Open conflict in the Garrotxa over the construction of a bypass over a protected aquifer

GironaEvery day, more than 2,000 heavy-duty trucks pass through Olot and follow the route along the Les Preses regional road. Most of them are trucks from the meat industry, which make the round trip between Osona and the mega-slaughterhouse of the Garrotxa capital, and they transport live pigs, offal, or fresh goods. The constant passage of trucks through this entire urban section, with houses right next to the road, generates a lot of unrest among neighbors and causes repeated traffic problems. For this reason, for some time now, town councils, companies, and neighborhood platforms have been demanding the construction of a bypass that circles the city and avoids the passage of heavy vehicles. Finally, after years of negotiations, in March 2026 the Generalitat approved the construction project for the new bypass, with a budget of 470 million euros, and the main work is already out for tender. But the new road has environmentalists and farmers against it: they argue that it would seriously affect fertile farmland areas and, above all, the fluvio-volcanic aquifer of La Garrotxa, which supplies water to the entire region.

The Generalitat's intention is for the actions to build the bypass to begin in the spring of 2027. It covers about 11 kilometers, with 40% of the route underground, which must connect the A-26 motorway, north of Olot, with the junction of the C-63 (which goes in the direction of Vic) and the C-37 (in the direction of Girona), at the industrial estate south of Les Preses. And faced with the Generalitat's refusal to reconsider the project, the Garrotxa association Salvem les Valls has filed an administrative contentious appeal with the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), which has already been admitted for processing. The Unió de Pagesos union has also done so. Both are requesting interim measures to stop the construction plan until a ruling is issued. The Vall d'en Bas Town Council, for its part, has also taken the case to court, but without requesting interim measures.

The critical point of the dispute is the 900-meter Verntallat tunnel, over the region's aquifer, in the cultivation area between Les Preses and the foothills of Puigsacalm. To be able to excavate and build the concrete walls of the underground road in this section, the Generalitat plans to install 72 pumping wells to absorb and extract groundwater, and, in this way, manage to lower the water table of the aquifer so that work can be done in dry conditions.

This decision scares environmentalists. "If the works begin, the damage could be irreversible. We are not aware of what destroying the aquifer might mean. We have no other source of drinking water in the entire region, none at all," argues Moisès Mont, president of Salvem les Valls. The organization also maintains that no alternative studies have been conducted and points out that the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) itself granted this aquifer maximum environmental protection by declaring it a Natural Underground Reserve.

Joan Paredes, a lawyer who has worked for a long time in public administration, is handling the case for the environmentalists and alleges the urgency of applying precautionary measures. "The only thing we are asking the judge is to suspend the execution until all evidence can be presented, because if the judge rules in our favor in the end, but the work has already started, the ruling will be unenforceable," he explains. And he continues: "At the time the project is processed, the protection measures that must be established for the maintenance of this type of aquifer under European regulations and mandatory Spanish regulations are not taken into account first. There is no report among those contained in the file from acting administrative bodies that guarantees that, once the temporary emptying of the aquifer is finished, the wells will not be damaged".

The Government maintains the schedule

In response to the legal appeals, the Department of Territory states that the construction design does have favorable reports and full guarantees from the ACA, and assures that the temporary dewatering during construction will not put the aquifer or the region's drinking water supply at risk. Likewise, Salvador Illa's executive describes the infrastructure as urgent and a historical necessity to resolve the serious problems of road safety, mobility, and pollution suffered by the urban centers of Olot and Les Preses. Thus, the Generalitat remains firm in its position and is working both in the legal and administrative spheres to maintain the schedule of actions, while continuing to advance on complementary projects related to compensatory measures for the affected owners who will need to be expropriated.

On the other hand, residents in favor of the bypass are putting pressure on to ensure the schedule is not delayed. A group of residents from Les Preses, organized under the entity Les Preses 2020-2030, are announcing mobilizations, public exhibitions open to the citizenry, and the hiring of legal services to appear in the litigation with the aim of supporting the Generalitat. "The filing of the lawsuits signifies a disloyalty to the negotiations that have been carried out during this process. Changes and compensations of all kinds have been accepted and incorporated, but these entities [Salvem les Valls and Unió de Pagesos] want to further prolong the suffocation and dangers that we have to endure due to the transit of thousands of trucks through our main roads," states Pau Tarradelles, spokesperson for the platform.