The improvement works on the Cieza branch line are entering their final phase.

The improvement works on the Cieza branch, being carried out by the Taibilla Canal Association (MCT), have entered their final phase, as indicated by the organization's president, Juan Cascales, during a visit to the Sierra de la Espada Drinking Water Treatment Plant (ETAP), where most of the work is being carried out. This project will increase the security of water supply to the towns of Blanca, Abarán, and Cieza.

The project, which will involve an investment of €13,501,944.31 (VAT included) and has a completion period of 25 months, includes the construction of a new pumping station at the Sierra de la Espada DWTP consisting of three 30 kW pumps each, along with a reserve tank with a capacity of 15,000 m3, which will increase the operating autonomy of the DWTP, thus increasing the guarantee of supply to the area supplied by this water treatment plant.

The project, which will involve an investment of more than 13 million euros, will increase the security of water supply to the municipalities of Blanca, Abarán, and Cieza.

The project also includes the construction of a new regulation and reserve reservoir in the La Losilla mountain range, with a capacity of 10,000 m3, which will serve the aforementioned municipalities. This infrastructure will be connected to the corresponding facilities at the Sierra de La Espada DWTP through the completion and connection of a 6.7-kilometer pipeline of 600 mm nominal diameter ductile iron pipe, partially installed.

"The improvement of the Cieza branch will significantly improve the service provided by the MCT to the municipalities of Blanca, Cieza, and Abarán," says Juan Cascales, as "it will prevent potential breakdowns resulting from the deterioration of the existing network, which was already more than 50 years old."

The civil engineering work being carried out at the Sierra de la Espada water treatment plant is almost complete. Hydraulic equipment and installations are currently being installed for the commissioning of the new infrastructure, which will be incorporated into the robust hydraulic system of the Taibilla Canals Association.

The Cieza branch, which starts at the Sierra de la Espada water treatment plant, supplies drinking water to Blanca, Abarán, and Cieza, municipalities where the first waters from the MCT arrived in 1969 in the first two and 1972 in the third. The renovation and adaptation works are scheduled for completion in the summer of 2025.