Drought crisis
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In a scenario of severe drought restrictions, in early 2024 the Greater Malaga metropolitan district began the search for water resources to make the area more self-sufficient should supply restrictions be enforced. There was a good reason, just before Christmas 2023, Rincón de la Victoria on the eastern Costa del Sol tightened its restrictions, which with water cuts from 11pm to 7am every night.
Prior to that, in June, bans on irrigation were introduced and beach showers were cut off. The aim was to comply with the 91 litres per inhabitant set by the Andalusian drought management commission. The current context is that the same body established a limit of 200 litres, which has been in force since December 2024 following the abundant rains in autumn. However, rainfall is not guaranteed and the problem is likely to return.
In February 2024, Rincón de la Victoria town hall started the procedure five wells to the water network, which distribute water to houses in the town centre, as a reserve. The first step was to check that this decision was risk-free, which was confirmed in accordance with Royal Decree 3/2023, of 10 January, on the quality of water for human consumption.
From there, the town hall began work on the adaptation of the wells; the preparations for their connection, with work such as the installation of pumps and other equipment. This phase is also already complete and with this approach the water obtained from the municipal wells is an asset that would be very important in the event of further restrictions. "We are ready, if necessary, to use this water," the town hall said.
Together, these resources would provide up to 45 litres per second, according to municipal calculations. These are the 'Camello' deposits, with nine litres per second; 'La Corta' and '8x', with 5.5; '7x', with 10, and 'Locea', with 15.
These improvements to the supply network have been combined with other actions including the installation of motorised valves at the outlet of the distribution tanks, which have been integrated into a remote control system for the network. These in turn automatically and immediately control the flow of water supplied to the population. Waterproofing and other measures such as sewerage systems have also been reinforced, as well as the renovation of the supply network in Los Cabreras, where regular breakdowns had been detected. These investments together exceed 400,000 euros.
In parallel, Rincón de la Victoria, which depends on La Viñuela reservoir and which is also awaiting the construction of the Axarquía desalination plant, has developed other tools designed to measure and control consumption.
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