Rainfall in Almuñécar so far in 2026 guarantees water supply for the whole year

Carlos Ferron, councillor for agriculture at Almuñécar town hall on Granada province's Costa Tropical, has reported that, according to the data collected from the Río Verde water treatment plant, from 1 January to 8 February 2026, the rainfall in Almuñécar has exceeded 350 litres, "more than it rained in 6 of the last 10 years". He went on to say that "the data for the last 40 days of 2026 are really very positive for our tropical fruit agriculture".

Ferrón said, "without a doubt, we have guaranteed water for the whole year, moreover, with good management of water use and the periods of normal rainfall that may come, we can expect the Almuñécar aquifer to remain without salinisation for quite some time".

Having enough water in the deposits to avoid salinisation has been a struggle for farmers and local authorities in recent years, with the area suffering several years of drought which has lead to very low levels of water in reservoirs and wells.

Ferrón explained that 2017 and 2018 were very rainy years, with a collection of 729 l/m2, but the years of drought meant that Almuñécar had to invest some 400,000 euros to recharge the aquifer and prevent its total salinisation, in order to avoid the loss of tropical fruits. "Now, the water level in the subsoil is so high that we are seeing the consequences in different buildings and garages in the municipality," he explained.

Referring to the Rules dam, he said, "If Rules were channelled, the water that flows down the rivers would not have to be used and would be a guarantee for future droughts that will come and everything would be very different for farmers in the tropical valley. With all the rain that has fallen and without the future extractions from the different wells, there would be a continuous flow for a long time in the River Verde."

*IDEAL has also used information from three graphs: Table of the "agronomic" year registered in the meteorological station that the Junta de Andalucía has in the Rio Verde treatment plant, in Cázulas; table of the station situated in the upper part of the Seco river; and graph of the hydrological year of rainfall in Almuñécar."