Ben Pawlowski
A RED level emergency for drought has been announced for Malaga and Guadalhorce Valley as conditions continue to worsen, despite Friday’s heavy rainfall.
The Drought Committee announced the new decree this Friday, with Malaga’s mayor, Francisco de la Torre, informing residents of the affected areas of the need to moderate water use.
“The more we save, the longer the reserves will last”, said de la Torre, who added that water pressure will be lowered, stressing that water should be allocated for “proper use and not for cleaning cars or watering gardens”.
Experts have also warned that heavy rainfall seen across the region this Friday will not be sufficient to replenish water levels.
High winds have hindered water collection, with Junta president Juanma Moreno stating that the region will need 30 days of rainfall to prevent more restrictions this summer.
The Junta recently announced a new investment package worth €217m that includes new desalination plants and money for municipalities to fix leaky pipes, a key source of water loss.
Andalucia’s reservoir levels are operating at just 22.21% of their capacity – Malaga’s reservoirs are only 15.75% full, whilst Almeria’s reserves have fallen to below 9%, the lowest level of any province in Spain.
Restrictions have also been imposed in Catalunya where an historic drought continues to persist.
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