AquaGib plans new RO plant to strengthen water resilience 

AquaGib plans to procure an additional reverse osmosis plant in 2027 to keep potable water production above consumption and maintain Gibraltar’s reservoirs as close to full as possible, Parliament heard on Friday. 

The Minister for Health, Care and Business, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, said space constraints prevented the construction of additional storage reservoirs, making increased production capacity the alternative for strengthening resilience. 

She was responding to questions from the Leader of the Opposition, Keith Azopardi, about monthly drinking water stocks since January 2021 and measures to increase reserves. 

Mrs Arias-Vasquez said average closing monthly stocks between 2023 and 2025 had been approximately 60,000 cubic metres, equivalent to reservoirs being about 83% full. 

Stocks had fallen during the relocation of the reverse osmosis plant from Waterport to North Mole in late 2025 and early 2026, when production was restricted for periods. 

But commissioning a new plant to replace equipment at the end of its working life, alongside investment in a temporary plant, had allowed stocks to recover. 

Mr Azopardi said he was seeking to track water reserves following the 2022 fire at Power’s Drive, which had badly affected supplies. 

He noted that a schedule provided to Parliament showed stocks falling to approximately 44,000 cubic metres in February this year, 43,000 in March and 49,000 in April. 

He asked whether AquaGib had identified a level below which reserves should not fall. 

“The figure is 50,000, and at 50,000, civil contingencies are notified in case they need to monitor it,” Mrs Arias-Vasquez said. 

She attributed the lower figures highlighted by Mr Azopardi to the period when the plant was being moved. 

AquaGib intends to continue using the temporary plant over the coming months, when consumption is expected to fall, to replenish reservoirs and allow maintenance of permanent equipment during winter. 

The additional plant planned for 2027 would take over routine production from the temporary unit, which would remain available for exceptional demand or other contingencies. 

Mr Azopardi pressed for clarification on when reservoirs could be expected to approach full capacity and whether the plans would accommodate population growth. 

Mrs Arias-Vasquez said reserves were expected to approach full capacity over the coming months, even before the additional plant was purchased, as winter demand declined and the existing plants operated alongside the temporary unit. 

She did not separately address the question about population growth.