Palma to get water from the Serra de Tramuntana

The Ministry for the Environment in Madrid has given the go ahead for water resources in the Sierra de Tramuntana mountain range in the north of Majorca, to be tapped for public consumption. The ministry, following the project's approval by the cabinet on July 27, yesterday approved the budget of 9.396 million pesetas and the money will be released in four instalments between now and 2004. The first phase of the project will involve an exhaustive study of how the mammoth task will be carried out and what construction work will be involved - while causing the least damage to the environment. Engineers will also be investigating the most efficient ways of transporting water from the mountains down as far as the Bay of Palma. Plans to use water from the Sierra de Tramuntana to boost Palma's water resources were first approved by Royal decree in 1992, but have been in the planning and development stage for nearly ten years.