Walter Finch
RESIDENTS of the western Costa del Sol will be granted an extra 25 litres of water usage a day after the punishing DANA storms which hit Malaga in October and November.
In fact households across the province can breathe a sigh of relief after the Drought Management Commission announced a relaxation of water restrictions.
An extraordinary meeting held on Thursday marks a turning point for the region, which has been battling severe water shortages for months.
While the Manilva to Malaga region will see the most substantial relief, with urban water consumption limits increased from 200 to 225 litres per day, key areas like Guadalhorce-Limonero and Viñuela-Axarquía will also see an increase in daily water allocation, rising from 180 to 200 litres per person.
Only the Axarquía region remains in a state of emergency, though even this area is expected to benefit from improved reservoir levels.
The La Concepción reservoir, which supplies the Costa del Sol, is currently storing nearly 28 cubic hectometers (28 million litres) of water.
However, water management experts caution that due to its physical dimensions, the reservoir can never guarantee a water supply stability extending beyond seven months.
This limitation means that while the current water levels provide some relief, the region remains vulnerable to potential future water shortages and is not a long-term solution to the area’s water scarcity challenges.
The nearby La Viñuela reservoir, serving the Axarquía region, has also shown signs of improvement.
Meanwhile, the western Costa del Sol plans to maximise the use of non-conventional water sources such as desalination and recycled water.
The desalination plant in the region is expected to start operating at full capacity by July, producing 20 cubic hectometers of water per year.
Groundwater sources in Guadalmansa (Estepona) and Fuengirola are a continued source of water.
