13/04/2013 00:00
TW
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STAFF REPORTER

PALMA
AN historic irrigation system known as “siquies” and the watermills it powered at Selva, Inca and Buger have been declared cultural heritage monuments, the Council of Majorca said yesterday.

The new legislation will afford government protection to the irrigation system consisting of a principal channel hewn out of flagstones with a series of adjacent offshoots. For centuries, they have been the power behind the working of a series of watermills.

Along the channels, there are other architectural features related to the hydraulic system such as aqueducts and waterwheels whose work it was to irrigate fields and vegetable gardens alongside the siquies.

The irrigation system is in total 3'480 metres long and crosses the municipalities of Selva, Inca and Buger. The declaration of its being listed as a cultural heritage monument includes the watermills it powered, namely: de n'Eufrasina, d'en Bernat Rubi, d'en Pages, d'en Cusseta, de sa Torrontera, de can Barraca and de Cas Pobil, along with the waterwheels and aqueducts which were part of its hydraulic functioning.

Protection will also cover any features of the irrigation system which have not yet come to light, in circumstances for example, where they have remained hidden by vegetation or soil.

INVESTMENT
Also at its full plenary session yesterday, the Council of Majorca agreed on the first phase of its Works and Services programme for 2010 in which it will spend 18 million euros. The investment will finance 75 improvement projects across 47 municipalities of the island. Some of the programmes will be jointly financed with local town councils.

Included in the first stage of the Plan are the building of nursery schools, modernising public drainage systems, and the upgrading of installations such as football pitches. Also on the agenda are the provision of cultural centres and all-purpose halls. The Council of Majorca, a spokesman said, is committed to supporting municipal development.