Checks and repairs after wettest March in 20 years on the Costa del Sol

The Costa del Sol and the rest of Malaga province was spending this week pulling itself together again in the warm sunshine after the wettest March for 20 years. By Thursday this week, 231mm had fallen in the month at Malaga Airport, the reference point for the province, although other areas had seen more. Up to now, it has been the second wettest March since records began in 1942, but has not beaten the 270mm of 2004.

With the sun out again, at least until some expected unsettled weather again in the first days of April next week, Costa authorities have been clearing up and making repairs after the rain.

Early last Saturday, in the Axarquía, the public water company there, Axaragua, managed to repair damage to supply pipes in the Benagalbón and Benamargosa riverbeds. This had forced six places in that eastern area of the Costa, with a population of around 7,500, to be supplied for several days with water tankers.

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Meanwhile, in the nearby La Viñuela, with the happy sight of the Costa's biggest reservoir now with 74 million cubic metres and 45% full, the Junta de Andalucía was forced to carry out emergency checks to the pipes on the bed for blockages from sediment stopping smooth extraction of the water. As a result, locals were advised on Wednesday to watch out for a sudden increase in the flow of the Guaro and Vélez rivers downstream of the reservoir.

The regional government's drought committee, which met this week, has not officially announced the end of all restrictions yet, as levels in the reservoirs need to be maintained for a longer period of time. However it has eased local restrictions. In terms of irrigation water allowed to be used for farmland, the permitted amount will be tripled. The allocation of domestic supplies has increased from 225 litres per inhabitant per day to 250 in the western Costa del Sol (which is a normal state) and from 200 to 225 in Malaga and the Axarquía.

The beaches too need to be tidied up, especially in time for Easter. More than 2,500 tonnes of reeds and other vegetation swept down by rivers has been removed from western Costa del Sol beaches so far this year, the authorities said.