Water-saving measures are extended, reducing consumption across the Costa del Sol from 225 litres to 200 litres per inhabitant per day.
The Drought Management Commission for the Andalusian Mediterranean Basins river basin district, made up of representatives of the Andalusian Government, water users, and business, trade union and environmental organisations, has met in Málaga to analyse the hydrological situation of the district and approve measures to increase the guarantee of supply for human consumption and mitigate the social, environmental and economic impacts of the drought.
During his address, the Secretary General for Water, Ramiro Angulo, who chaired the meeting, presented the latest data on the hydrological situation of this Andalusian basin, taking into account the rainfall recorded in the current hydrological year and its behaviour in the different systems of the district (Campo de Gibraltar, Costa del Sol-La Concepción, Guadalhorce-Limonero, Axarquía-Viñuela, Béznar-Rules, Campo de Dalías-Benínar and Cuevas de Almanzora).
Despite the complete absence of significant rainfall after the passage of Storm Nelson, the measures adopted by the Drought Commission last May have ensured that the Campo de Gibraltar and Western Costa del Sol systems begin the year in a situation of severe scarcity (alert). In the case of the Guadalhorce-Limonero system, as had been forecast, the threshold of serious scarcity (emergency) was crossed during the summer, and this is the status in which the 2024-2025 hydrological year begins.
After analysing the trend in the indicators and the current hydrological situation in the district, the members of the Drought Management Commission of the Andalusian Mediterranean Basins have approved increasing the water-saving measures that have been in place in urban areas.
In the coming months, detailed monitoring of the evolution of resources and demand will continue, as will analysis of the application of the measures adopted, to determine whether new actions are needed. Those agreed today will remain in place until the end of the year, but may be reviewed earlier depending on the hydrological situation.
Measures for urban use
The Drought Management Commission for the Andalusian Mediterranean Basins has approved that urban water consumption may not exceed 180 litres per inhabitant per day, taking into account all the water resources available in the municipalities of the Guadalhorce-Limonero (Málaga) and Axarquía-Viñuela systems (Almáchar, Benamargosa, El Borge, Comares, Cútar, Iznate, Macharaviaya, Moclinejo, Rincón de la Victoria, Vélez-Málaga, Totalán, Algarrobo, Torrox and Nerja). In the Campo de Gibraltar (Algeciras, Los Barrios, Castellar de la Frontera, Línea de la Concepción, San Roque, Jimena de la Frontera and San Martín del Tesorillo) and the Western Costa del Sol (Benahavís, Benalmádena, Casares, Estepona, Fuengirola, Manilva, Marbella, Ojén, Torremolinos and Mijas), urban water consumption may not exceed 200 litres per inhabitant per day.
In the Western Costa del Sol, in order to comply with the proposed management plan, the use of non-conventional resources such as desalinated and reclaimed water will be maximised. In the case of reclaimed water, once concession rights have been met, any resources that have not been used may be employed, always with the corresponding administrative authorisation, for other uses such as garden irrigation.
Swimming pools and irrigation of green areas
With regard to swimming pools and the irrigation of green areas, the exceptional measures approved last May remain in place, provided that the allocation approved for each system is respected and that the irrigation volume does not exceed 200 m3 per hectare per month, with a maximum number of irrigations per week.
Under these exceptional measures, public swimming pools are authorised, while it will be for town halls and associations of municipalities with responsibility for bulk water supply to send the corresponding applications for private swimming pools to the Hydraulic Administration, together with their technical report justifying compatibility with the allocation approved for the system as a whole, for consideration (or at municipal level in areas without regulation). These pools must have a water recirculation system so that water is used only in the quantities essential to replace losses through evaporation and filter cleaning and to guarantee the sanitary quality of the water.
Irrigation of green areas will be carried out with water that is not fit for human consumption, where this type of resource exists, making maximum use of it. Water fit for human consumption may only be used when the municipality has no other resources unfit for human consumption that can be used for irrigation or, where they exist, they are insufficient to carry out such survival irrigation. Furthermore, under no circumstances may the use of water intended for human consumption in the irrigation of green areas result in the supply volumes approved by the Drought Management Commission being exceeded.
