Local

Search operation ongoing for pilot of gyrocopter which plunged into Iznájar reservoir

E. Cabezas / a. j. guerrero

The search for a 55-year-old gyrocopter pilot continues after the aircraft he was flying crashed into the reservoir at Iznájar. Pablo Benthem, who is from Madrid but lives in Moclinejo, set off from Antequera airfield at 10am on Tuesday morning ... but police received a number of calls at around 11.20am that what was reported as a helicopter had plunged into the reservoir. The principal line of enquiry at present is that Benthem, who is also a diving, paragliding and paramotor instuctor, was ... both helicopters and drones, as well as bringing in specialist divers to survey the floor of the reservoir which is in some parts 60 metres deeps. Antonio Quijano, in charge of the operation, said that the aircraft involved was a “two-seater

Local

Recruits have their work cut out, taking over a long list of unfinished projects

A. M. ROMERO

...wards in the Guadalhorce hospital and a pipeline to connect the Concepción reservoir in Marbella with La Viñuela in the Axarquía, are just a few more of the tasks already on the desks waiting for the new regional government officials.

Local

El Trapiche clean-up continues after burst water pipe spills ten million litres of water in 30 minutes

Eugenio Cabezas

Residents of the small village of El Trapiche, which belongs to Vélez-Málaga, have been assessing the damage caused to their properties and cars, as well as the local church, after a burst mains pipe connected to La Viñuela reservoir spilled around ... to the north of the village, near to the water treatment plant. El Trapiche is situated around 11 kilometres south of La Viñuela reservoir. Systems automatically cut off water supply from the reservoir, although as the pipe is 10 kilometres long, ... confirmed that none of the towns and villages served by La Viñuela reservoir experienced problems with their water supply and that water was redirected from the El Atabal desalinisation plant in Malaga city. The incident is being treated as an accident

Local

Father Christmas takes to his paraglider over Periana

Father Christmas paid an early visit to Periana on Saturday afternoon, choosing a paraglider instead of a traditional sleigh and nine reindeer. He flew over the village, which overlooks the Viñuela reservoir, providing photographers with some

Local

Malaga faces the wettest season with streams and rivers blocked by plants and earth

FRANCISCO JIMÉNEZ \ NIEVES CASTRO

...vegetation. The stretch upstream from the city centre between Las Virreinas, Palmilla and Martiricos, also suffered an accumulation of rubbish and pools of stagnant water from the Limonero reservoir (water is released from it for safety reasons on the first

LifeStyle

From Jersey to Spain, naturally

Jennie Rhodes

Nikki. "You just have to read about the desperate water situation at the reservoir and every time I drive up through the Axarquía on my way to Canillas it seems that there is another mango or avocado plantation," she laments. What she is trying to

Local

Western Costa renews water provision deal with Campo de Gibraltar

Mónica Pérez

Campo de Gibraltar, helps to top up the area's supply of drinking water, which relies almost exclusively on increasingly undersupplied La Concepción reservoir in Marbella. At an annual cost of 1.5 million euros (0.215309 euros per cubic metre), the

Local

Malaga province ends the summer with more water than last year

AGUSTÍN PELÁEZ

...guaranteed for one year because of the limited capacity of La Concepción reservoir in Marbella. On Monday afternoon in Nerja a heavy downpour of rain and hail took residents and tourists by surprise. Some premises and basements were flooded.

Local

The Costa del Sol has ended the peak tourist season with more water than last year

Mónica Pérez

The months when the highest amount of water is used on the western Costa del Sol are over now, and the reservoir levels are higher than they were in September last year. With only a couple of weeks to go before the start of the new hydrological year ... supplies 11 municipalities on the western Costa del Sol, the heavy rain filled it in just 20 days in March, and water had to be released from it on several occasions. The first storms of the season affected most of Malaga province That reservoir was ... than normal consumption over two months in this area) during the three busiest months of the year. Last year at the same time the reservoir contained nearly three cubic hectometres less. Looking back at previous figures from Hidrosur, the average amount

Opinion

End of the line

ALBERTO GÓMEZ

...tourism sector, the extension of the Concepción reservoir in Marbella or the permanent use of the airport's second runway: everything they failed to do in seven years in power. On the other side, the PSOE faces its own mountain of proposals from the

LifeStyle

From Iron Throne to Terminator

FRANCISCO GRIÑÁN

...begin this month, but Peter says the locations are a professional secret and he isn't prepared to reveal them. He wouldn't even confirm or deny rumours that the filming will take place in Almería, Murcia and Salamanca (the reservoir of Aldeadávila de la

Local

The power of El Chorro

IGNACIO LILLO

The mechanism is apparently simple: when electricity is cheap but not being used (for example, on a windy night, when the power generated by wind turbines supplies a network with little demand), the water is pumped from the lower reservoir to the ... 1973. It is a pure pumped storage plant, operating a closed cycle, thanks to the reversible machinery. A multi-million-euro Endesa investment to modernise the power plant “The turbines pump the water from the lower reservoir to a higher dam at the ... in the reservoir below. To power the turbines, three cubic hectometres of water need to fall. The water is pumped back up to the top reservoir when there a surplus electricity production locally. “Wind turbines can generate electricity during the

Local

Costa dam opened for third time after rain

MÓNICA PÉREZ

It had not rained for days, but La Concepción reservoir, behind Marbella, was judged to be over capacity on Monday. Officials there opened up the dam to release some of the water stored inside into the nearby sea. Mid-morning on Monday the reservoir ... reached 102 per cent of its technical capacity, but by 6pm it had fallen back to 99.98 per cent. This is the third time this year that staff at the facility have had to release excess water from the reservoir. In the most recent purge, over 20 cubic ... where there is also enough water in the dam to operate it as normal”. La Concepción reservoir supplies the western Costa del Sol but the infrastructure in the area has been criticised as the reservoir is relatively small and fills up quickly, meaning

Local

The reservoirs have enough water for two years but better infrastructure is badly needed

IGNACIO LILLO

...last year (when the situation was almost identical to this year), at 1.5hm3 in April and 2hm3 in May. There will be another meeting at the end of May to see how much water the reservoir contains and decide on irrigation in the summer. In any case, there ... have doubled their water content, and now contain 227 hm3. Paradoxes of La Concepción That is one aspect. The other is that, once again, the situation has highlighted the lack of hydraulic infrastructure in the province. La Concepción reservoir ... populated areas of Spain. As a backup, Marbella also has a sea water desalination plant which is mainly used when demand is at its peak in the summer. The second paradox is that the reservoir is very small compared with the basin which it supplies and is

Local

Río Chíllar to Viñuela pipe criticism

E. C.

Subtropical fruit producers have criticised the Nerja business association AEN for insinuating that growers are against plans to redirect water from the River Chíllar to the Viñuela reservoir in times of drought. “I think it's an unhelpful position

Local

Government spending plan promises boost to railway projects in Malaga province

IGNACIO LILLO

...million for Fuengirola. Water No money to expand La Concepción reservoir The area has not fared so well in terms of funds for water supply infrastructure. Despite the urgent need to expand La Concepción reservoir to guarantee the Costa del Sol's

Local

Filling up the reservoirs

Ignacio LILLO

...streams. Reservoir levels are rising again: those in Malaga province have recovered about 120 cubic hectometres. La Concepción is almost completely full, and fears of drought in La Axarquía have been relegated to the past, thanks to the water now in La ... unexpected tourist attraction, with hundreds of people heading into the countryside every weekend to enjoy the sight. La Concepción reservoir, which supplies 11 municipalities on the western Costa del Sol (Marbella, Estepona, Ojén, Istán, Casares, Manilva, ... supply. Situated between Marbella and Istán, this reservoir is unusual because it is so small that it empties at almost the same rate as it fills. In fact in the past three weeks it has gone from being half-full to over 93 per cent, and last Friday the

Local

La Viñuela water restriction lifted

A. PELÁEZ

...following the heavy rain that has fallen in the area this month, which has led to the Viñuela reservoir's levels almost doubling, from 35 cubic hectometres before the period of wet weather, to 63.7 cubic hectometres this week. While the 60 per cent

Local

Junta says there won't be a drought order until autumn at least

M. D. TORTOSA / A. PELÁEZ

...in place for the rest of this hydraulic year. However Fiscal gave assurances that there would be enough water for two years of domestic use as long as the situation “does not get worse”. La Concepción reservoir in Sierra de las Nieves near Marbella ... stands at 89 per cent full, while the Limonero reservoir north of Malaga city is at 50.29 per cent capacity and with enough water for two years. The Campo de Gibraltar reservoircurrently has 41.6 cubic hectometres with enough water to supply the area ... for two years, while La Viñuela has risen from 35.5 to 54.7 cubic hecometres. Meanwhile major infrastructural works to guarantee the area's long term water supply remain on hold. These include a new channel to take water from the Iznájar reservoir to

Local

More rain forecast as reservoir levels rise

SUR

...rainfall has been below the long-term average. The current restrictions placed on farmers will also be reconsidered. Healthier reservoir levels Over the last week the reservoirs have filled to over 250 cubic hectometres. As often happens in periods of ... One of the main beneficiaries of the rain has been La Concepción reservoir, a relatively small reservoir behind Marbella that serves the municipalities of the western Costa del Sol from Torremolinos to Manilva. Local public water provider, Acosol, ... has said it is pleased that the reservoir is now back up to over 70 per cent of its capacity, however the company's head has been explaining this week that it cannot be complacent. Manuel Cardeña recalled that the capacity of La Concepción is quite