Andalucian water agency removes water boss

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The former director-general of water for Spain has been removed from his latest post in Andalucia. Disagreements over reforms appear to be to blame.

Jaime Palop, the man in charge Spanish water policy till his replacement following a government reshuffle last April, has been sacked again, this time from his post as director-general of the Andalucian Water Agency (AAA).

Palop was the driving force behind attempts to reform the water sector in Andalucia, and the architect of the "Andalucian Water Accord", an agreement finalised this year.

The agreement established a consensus between water users and administrators in Andalucia around issues of water pricing and infrastructure financing.

The agreement was designed to clear the way for the approval of a new regional water law to establish a framework for funding urgently-needed investment in wastewater treatment infrastructure.

The Andalucian irrigation federation Feragua believes Palop was sidelined from the framing of the draft law, saying it contains "elements which do not follow WFD (Water Framework Directive) principles" and "which favour the break-up of traditional unitary river basin management, giving provincial administrations control over water resources".

The agency's senior management team resigned en bloc following Palop's dismissal.

Feragua's secretary-general Pedro Parias told GWI his federation "laments Jaime's sacking" and "is concerned about the chaos and lack of coherent government now affecting water policy in Andalucia".

Commenting on his replacement, regional environment minister Cinta Castilla praised Palop's "commitment to water" and maintained that he had been "in the job for longer than the period to which he intially committed himself".