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ARCHIVED - Murcia farmers face water restrictions at the beginning of next year
Water supplies in the Region’s reservoirs have reached dangerously low levels
At a tense meeting with the agricultural sector of the Murcia Region today (October 21), president of the Segura Hydrographic Confederation (CHS) suggested that a drought alert be activated very soon to cover the end of this year and the beginning of 2023. There has been no significant rainfall for months now and with little on the horizon, the water supply of the Segura basin is running dangerously low.
If the weather forecast doesn’t change, Mario Urrea has predicted that the main system of the basin will be in drought by the start of November and if the situation continues into December, the CHS will have no choice but to activate the National Drought Plan.
To decide on the matter, a new governing board will be convened and is expected to approve a 25% restriction on water for irrigating crops. This measure, Urrea warned, could go further in the event of an emergency situation.
"We have to be very cautious. Some restrictions are coming with a significant probability at the beginning of the year. All those farmers of horticultural crops must take this situation into account," he said.
The water supply in the Region is complicated: the lack of rain in the Entrepeñas and Buendía reservoirs, which are suffering from a prolonged drought and hydric stress, has slowed down the arrival of water through the Transfer. This has in turn impacted the resources travelling from the Tagus.
Another hot topic on the agenda was the request from the agricultural sector that the precautionary measures around the Mar Menor aquifer be lifted. The CHS has decided to maintain the measures for the time being, but conceded that there is a possibility that they could be relaxed “as soon as we have proof that everything is going well.”
The priority, Urrea stressed, continues to be the protection of this valuable aquifer from harmful nitrates which would contaminate the water supply.
Image: CHS
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