Junta's drought committee triples water allocation for farm irrigation and extends domestic supply in Malaga province

It raises the allocation to 250 litres per inhabitant per day on the coast and 225 in Malaga and the Axarquía, while the Guadalhorce will receive 30 million cubic metres for irrigation

Chus Heredia

Tuesday, 25 March 2025, 14:28

The drought committee officially announced the threefold increase in water supply in Malaga province following its meeting today. This decision offers great relief to the countryside in particular, which bore the brunt of the shortage situation.

In terms of irrigation, the Axarquía will go from just three million cubic metres to 12.8; the Guadalhorce from nine to 30. The allocation of domestic supplies has increased from 225 litres per inhabitant to 250 in the western Costa del Sol and from 200 to 225 in Malaga and the Axarquía.

"We are analysing the damage caused by the recent rains in the Andalusian countryside. It is true that the rains have been very good for us, because they have managed to recharge our aquifers and reservoirs, but it is true that they have caused damages that must be assessed," said regional minister of agriculture Ramón Fernández Pacheco.

The calm after the storm

"We decided to postpone the drought committee meeting until after the end of the series of storms, to let the rain settle and have a better picture," said the regional minister.

There are four stages of drought used by the Andalusian authority. The worst is 'grave' (serious), followed by 'severo' (severe), 'moderado' (moderate) and 'normalidad' (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 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 Axarquía might move from serious to severe 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.

Malaga

For the Costa, having an allocation of 250 litres is normal. The same goes for Malaga, as it doesn’t even reach the 225-litre threshold. These figures come from dividing the total water supply at the main distribution point by the official population count.

In the Axarquía, the allocation covers 90% of what would be normal in the absence of shortages.

415% more rainfall

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% more in the Axarquía.

Current reserves

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 million (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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