The state-owned company Acuamed has announced plans to increase its desalinated water production at the Torrevieja plant by fifty percent from April twenty twenty-six, coinciding with the completion of expansion works. Currently, the plant produces over eighty cubic hectometres annually and is set to generate one hundred and twenty cubic hectometres. The increase aims to alleviate water shortages affecting irrigation in the Tajo-Segura area and to support the recovery of local aquifers by partially replacing groundwater extraction with desalinated water.

Despite the anticipated increase, local farmers express concerns that this contribution is still inadequate, estimating a groundwater deficit of two hundred cubic hectometres annually. Presently, the majority of the desalinated water produced is directed towards irrigation in the Murcia region, with eighteen percent allocated to crops in Alicante.

The expansion project, managed by a consortium of Ferrovial, Cadagua, and Sacyr, has a budget of approximately eighty-nine million euros, which includes costs for construction as well as operational and maintenance expenses over four years. The initial budget has risen by three hundred thousand euros, and Acuamed aims to complete the work by late March twenty twenty-six, despite previous slow progress.

In addition to increasing production, the expansion will enhance marine intake and pumping infrastructure, construct a new facility equipped with cutting-edge reverse osmosis technology, and activate the necessary submarine emissaries for brine discharge. Nonetheless, challenges remain, including high energy costs, accounting for sixty percent of desalination expenses, and ongoing issues regarding the quality of the produced water, often criticized for its lack of nutrients.