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The councilor of this formation, Gloria Martín, has demanded that the mayor, Diego José Mateos (PSOE), and the vice mayor, Francisco Morales (C's) explain why they have not made these facts known to the citizens and the rest of the Corporation municipal government and has requested that the City Council of Lorca appear as a popular accusation in the criminal case opened for discharges that have been occurring since 2006 and that are incorporated into the waters with which crops are irrigated and livestock are fed in Lorca The councilor of Izquierda Unida-Verdes in the Lorca City Council, Gloria Martín, has warned of the discharge of sewage from the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) of Vélez Rubio (Almería), to the Puentes reservoir through the Rmbla de Chirivel, which would have been taking place since 2006 and of which this municipal group has been made aware by a citizen complaint. Martín explained that the owner of said spill is the Municipality of Vélez Rubio and that on this matter there is an open procedure at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office that is currently in process, for which the mayor has requested the mayor of Lorca, Diego José Mateos, that the Lorca Consistory to appear as a popular accusation in this case. The councilor for Izquierda Unida-Verdes also commented that the Segura Hydrographic Confederation (CHS) is carrying out a systematic follow-up of said spill and that it has forwarded the information at its disposal to the Single Court of First Instance and Instruction of Vélez Rubio, where criminal investigation proceedings began.

Thanks to the work carried out by Ecologists in Action, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge is also aware of these facts, which has come to initiate several disciplinary proceedings, most of them classified as "serious", against the City Council of Vélez Rubio for this reason.

Specifically eight, only between the years 2017 and 2020, which add up to fines amounting to 172,817.14 euros. In this regard, Martín showed official documentation that shows that, since 2006, the CHS has been communicating to the City Council of Vélez Rubio the initiation of files "for the unauthorized discharge from the WWTP." It so happens that Mateos was Secretary of this Almeria City Council when these events were already known, so "it would have a very difficult explanation that, knowing it, he had not done anything to alert Lorca and undertake a real crusade, already as mayor of Lorca, to avoid a very serious environmental crime, "said Martín. While the problem is being corrected and a new WWTP is being built in Vélez Rubio, Martín warned that the repercussions for Lorca could be "very serious" from the point of view of the environment and public health.

"Many crops are irrigated with this water, which is also used to supply animals, including those that we later eat," said Martín.

This without counting the process of leaching and contamination of aquifers in an area of ??public hydraulic domain.

Martín recalled that these fecal waters could contain remains of COVID-19 that would be entering the swamp and that there are studies directed by prestigious universities that are deciding right now whether this constitutes "a serious threat" for the transmission of the coronavirus. The councilor for Izquierda Unida assured that, on January 24, the Junta de Andalucía awarded the consultancy contract for the drafting of the construction project of a new treatment plant and a new collector in Vélez Rubio.

However, and according to official documents to which Martín has had access, the Andalusian Government makes these actions depend on "budget availability" and on "the special situation that has caused the health crisis of COVID-19." For this reason, Martín has also urged the Mayor of Lorca, Diego José Mateos, to demand without delay from the Council of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development of the Board to "prioritize" this action over the rest of those planned undertake in the province of Almería,and for which there are consigned items worth 50 million euros as announced by the territorial delegate of this Andalusian department, Aránzazu Martín.

"That they stop what they have to stop, but that they start building the new WWTP so that we Lorca literally stop swallowing the sewage that is generated in this municipality," said Martín. The councilor of IU-Verdes has also demanded that Mateos and the vice mayor of C's, Francisco Morales, appear publicly, "to explain why they have not responded to the emails and writings that have been addressed to them personally and through the City Council Registry" on this issue and of which IU-Verdes received a copy this morning.

"We want to know how long they knew it, why they have not made these facts known to the citizens of Lorca and why they have not carried out any warning or prevention measures on what could be one of the greatest environmental crises to which they the municipality has been subjected in recent years, "wondered Martín who demanded" political responsibilities "for hiding from Lorca this serious risk to their health.

Source: IU-verdes Lorca