Majorca is one of six Mediterranean islands in European water project

The aquifer of the bay of Alcudia will be the object of a European study which covers Majorca and five other Mediterranean islands, to analyse conditions, the weather, use and the economy in order to optimise its future use. The chief aim of the Project Medis (Mediterranean Islands) is to contribute to the sustainable use of water in Majorca, Corsica, Sicily, Crete, Cyprus and Malta. Details of the project which started in January and will run until December 2005, were presented yesterday by Balearic environment minister Margalida Rosselló, director general of water resources Antonio Rodríguez, and Sergio Alonso, lecturer in physics at the Balearic University, who is taking part in the research. The project also includes universities and environmental organisations of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy and Spain. A mathematical model will be used to study rainfall and the recharging of the underground water tables to enable predictions to be made about available resources or to calculate the water in the aquifer which is being studied. Recommendations will be made at the end of the project regarding a balanced use and distribution of water for each of the islands.