We have translated and summarised a blog from Amigos de los Humedales del Sur de Alicante (AHSA).
Two weeks ago The Comunidad de Riegos de Levante (the owner of El Hondo) started emptying the Embalse de Poniente. They had asked the Consellería de Medio Ambiente for permission to do this as is necessary according to the Plan to Protect the Marbled Duck in the Comunidad Valenciana. In 2005 AHSA had filed a complaint against the water managers for emptying the reservoir without permission. This time the Comunidad de Riegos did slightly better as, despite the fact that now is the time for the reproduction and that many aquatic birds are currently nesting in the Embalse de Poniente, the water people were at least asked for permission to empty the lagoon.
AHSA is very happy to announce that the operation of emptying the Embalse de Poniente was stopped a few days ago, probably by someone with brains. AHSA hopes that after Sunday´s elections anecdotes like this one will not appear again.