Drought crisis
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Water reserves in Malaga province have tripled compared to March 2024. This balance has become apparent after several storms passed through the province in February and this March. According to the Junta de Andalucía's Hidrosur network, there are 342 million cubic metres in total in the reservoirs, compared to 113 in 2024, which means that some areas will move to lower levels of drought. However, at its meeting today, the drought committee must assess individually, by area and reservoir, to announce the current state in different parts of the province.
There are four stages of drought. The worst is severe, followed by serious, moderate and normal. To assess the stage of drought in a given area, the drought committee takes into account the reserves, the time of year, volumes of accumulated rainfall, etc. In order for an area to move from one stage to another, there are several criteria it must comply with.
Firstly, each threshold must be maintained for a certain amount of time and skipping a stage, to get from severe to moderate for example, is not possible. For that reason, at the moment the drought committee can confirm a state of normality for the western Costa del Sol, while Axarquia might move from severe to serious for the first time in a while. Malaga city is aiming for a moderate situation. However, some changes in status will not be made official yet for technical reasons.
To explain why a moderate state cannot be confirmed in Malaga yet, one must look at the rules. The city must be able to maintain the reserves above 140 million cubic metres for two months to be granted the transition. If this is met in May, then the committee can celebrate a prediction that nobody doubts at the moment.
What is more, technicians consider that the figures are sufficient to close the hydrological year (the new one begins on 1 October) in a moderate, pre-alert situation. In addition, the report states that it has rained 415% more in Malaga this year and 204% in the Axarquia.
One thing is for sure: according to regional minister of agriculture Ramón Fernández Pacheco measures and restrictions on water usage can be relieved. However, this might be done to a lesser extent in the countryside, which will once again leave farmers unsatisfied. Last year, only 9 million cubic metres were released for relief irrigation in the Guadalhorce and 3 in the Viñuela system.
The situation had already improved with rainfall that accumulated during the autumn, although this March's downpours have caused three reservoirs to discharge some water for safety reasons.
Despite the release of water in some reservoirs, levels continue to improve as a result of runoff. La Viñuela is the reservoir that stores the most water, with 72 million cubic metres (44%). The second is Guadalteba, with 67 (43%). They are also the two largest dams in the province. The third with the most water is Conde de Guadalhorce, with 66 million cubic metres (technically full), followed by La Concepción which serves the western Costa del Sol, already at 50 million cubic metres. With 21.92, Casasola is still up to capacity and El Limonero, with 16, is at almost three quarters of its capacity.
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