Balearics faces water treatment crisis

The Balearic Environment Ministry may increase taxes to pay for the improvements needed to the islands' sewage works many of which will soon be unable to cope with the amount of water needed to be treated. In a press conference yesterday Environment Minister Margalida Rosello said that urgent reparation work needs to be carried out on a dozen or so water treatment works and that at present the current charges do not cover the cost of treatment. She said that each of the 80 million cubic metres of waste water treated annually in the islands is charged at 103 pesetas but that the present taxes, and those forecast for 2000, will only cover 74 pesetas. Most importantly she stressed the need for people to try to reduce their ues of water so less needs to be treated and for urgent measures to stop urban and tourist growth more than is presently being done in order to improve the situation. She believes that within six years, if waste continues at the present rate, the islands will require twice as many water treatment works.