Hospitality sector on eastern strip of Costa del Sol reacts to nightly water cuts: 'It is a big problem for trade'

The hospitality sector in Vélez-Málaga in the Axarquía area of Malaga province has hit back at the town hall’s drastic and sudden decision to implement night-time cuts to the water supply which started last Friday 30 June by the town hall, in the face of the severe drought affecting the Axarquía.

The presidents of the Association of Traders and Entrepreneurs of Vélez-Málaga (ACEV) and the Association of Entrepreneurs of Torre del Mar (ACET), Fernando Lisbona and Antonio Sebastián Pastor, respectively, have not minced their words. "It is a big problem for the tourism trade," they told SUR earlier this week.

They pointed out that they understand why restrictive measures have to be taken, but argue that the authorities “should have warned us earlier and we ask the town hall to rethink the schedule, delaying it as much as possible, for example at least until one o'clock in the morning. "If we had known two or three weeks ago, we would have bought tanks for the kitchens," explained Pastor.

Thepresident of ACET predicted that from now on "there will be many businessmen who will have to stock up on water in the kitchens and bathrooms or we will have to close the businesses earlier, because without water you can't work", he added. "An ice cream parlour, a café or a bar, which is full at twelve o'clock or one o'clock, what are they going to do now? It is totally unhygienic, there is no sense in what they have decided, there is a lot of unease among businesses because we have no official information," said the president of ACET.

Pastor pointed out that there is a lot of “fear that this drastic measure could damage tourism” this summer but also recognised that drastic measures do need to be taken. "Let's hope that from now on people are really aware of the huge lack of water we have and that we all try to save as much as possible, but if it is something that has been known for a long time they should not have waited until the busiest time of the year to scare us."

Vélez-Málaga’s councillor for water, Jesús María Claros, and the councillor for the environment, Rocío Ruiz, have called on residents to be "very careful and to follow to the letter the prohibitions” to “save as much water as possible”.

Last Wednesday 28 June the public company Axaragua reduced the flow of water from La Viñuela reservoir by 20 per cent. "We have been receiving 620 litres per second from the reservoir until last Wednesday and, from now on, we are receiving 20 per cent less. That is the amount we have to be able to save together," Claros added.

“Awareness campaigns to save water should have been launched a long time ago, but this has not been done, and now we are paying the consequences," lamented Claros, adding, “We are going to work to reinforce the work to repair leaks and put an end to large losses. We are going to look for new alternatives, let there be no doubt about it. There are various options and emergency works that we could undertake soon. But, unfortunately, there is little more we can do these days, other than lead by example and save that 20 per cent of water that we must all manage to save together".

The environment councillor pointed out that the water used for street cleaning and for parks and gardens is non-drinking water: "We have already stopped all watering with drinking water and we will continue to use only the water we use from wells which is not fit for human consumption.”

"Choosing the shower instead of the bath for bathing, using adjustable taps and checking that they are properly turned off, fixing any leaks or taking advantage of the reduced consumption programmes on household appliances are some small everyday gestures that help to alleviate the water deficit", Ruiz concluded.