Date Published: 05/10/2022
ARCHIVED - Malaga implements water restrictions on homes and farms
Limits in water usage will be applied to private homes and agriculture across Malaga province
All of Spain is feeling the effects of an exceptionally dry summer and without any significant precipitation on the horizon, Malaga has pushed the drought alert button and implemented strict water restrictions.
Axarquia already had some limitations in place, shutting off beach showers and foot baths back in August but the situation has continued to deteriorate, with one of its reservoirs, La Viñuela, officially in the ‘dead’ category at less than 10% of its water capacity.
Things are little better in the rest of the province’s storage facilities and the Special Drought Plan has been approved by the Andalucia government with the aim of reducing water supply by 5% overall.
How will the measures effect the people of Malaga
The most critical situation is in the La Viñuela and Axarquia. Here, human consumption will be reduced to 20%, meaning that people will be limited to 200 litres per day for personal use.
The Guadalhorce-Limonero System will restrict agricultural irrigation to a maximum of 39 cubic hectometres.
Farmers won’t be allowed to use stored water for irrigation and will instead have to recycle. Four access points have been set up for the treatment of wastewater: two in Torrox , one in Vélez Málaga and another in Victory Corner.
It’s expected that in the future, treatment centres will also be available for agricultural water in Axarquia and Rincón de la Victoria.
It’s been an incredibly difficult year for the agriculture sector, the heavy rains earlier in the year which washed away or rotted crops a distant memory now as their harvests parch. Nevertheless, the Provincial Association of Irrigators of Malaga (Aprema) insists that farmers have managed to “tighten the belt.”
The discontent is growing, however, since farmers feel unfairly targeted to help solve the drought situation.
“Here the water is reduced only in one sector, it could also be reduced in the service sector", Aprema has criticised.
Image: Pixabay
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