Water crisis
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March 2025 was the second-wettest March on record in Malaga province, with exceptionally abundant rainfall. The cold drops ('danas'), followed by a succession of four storms, filled provincial reservoirs to a significant level, leading to the easing of water supply restrictions. In just a few months, the Junta de Andalucía's drought committee went from proposing extreme measures, such as bringing water by ship, to even allocating more water for irrigation, which is usually the sector most affected by restrictions.
Ten days after the last storm left, there are still water releases in the province. Provincial reservoirs were estimated to store 356 million cubic metres yesterday, which is, roughly speaking, enough to supply drinking water to more than 5 million people over the course of a year.
As for the drought situation, Malaga city will soon transition to a moderate stage, but the Axarquia will only go from serious to severe. The rest of the Costa del Sol will be back to normality, which grants it (and Malaga city) freedom from restrictions. As previously mentioned, farmers are also celebrating the post-rain balance, as they will be allowed 30 million cubic metres in the Guadalhorce Valley area and 12.8 in the Axarquia area.
The first reservoir to begin discharging water was La Concepción on 7 March. At times, it has released up to 60 cubic metres per second through the bottom spillway to provide the necessary safety protection. According to technical sources that assessed its state yesterday, it is still releasing 5 cubic metres per second. On 19 March, it had already released 24 million cubic metres, so it is not unreasonable to estimate that it will have exceeded 30 by now. At the moment, the flow down the dam is minimal, just to maintain an optimum level of safety.
The Conde de Guadalhorce has now closed its bottom floodgates. It opened them on 9 March, as it was technically full. The last official count recorded 21 million cubic metres.
Casasola is also draining through the spillway, as the drains are clogged - a matter that is being dealt with through emergency and complementary works. At the moment, it is only releasing 1 cubic metre per second, which is what is brought by the Campanillas river. According to the last data available, it had exceeded 5 million cubic metres.
Malaga city's El Limonero will also see some draining work today, as three quarters of it are now full. Discharging is necessary for cleaning and maintenance purposes.
Technicians had already carried out cleaning work at La Viñuela last week.
Reservoirs continue to increase and are now at around 60% of their capacity. In the order of reserves, La Viñuela has 76 million cubic metres (46%); Guadalteba, 72 (almost 47%); Conde de Guadalhorce, 65 (98%); Guadalhorce, 52 (41.35%); Limonero, 22.34 (76), and Casasola, 21.8 (100%).
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