Drought crisis
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New water restrictions have been put into place by the Lízar and El Molino irrigation community in Frigiliana, in the east of Malaga province. Farmers who belong to the community have devised a shift system, dividing the 320 hectares of crops that make up the community, where there are also numerous rural properties, into three zones.
The restrictions are even more severe than those of last summer, as instead of two zones, three zones have been created, so that water is only available in each zone two days a week. In addition, on Sundays there is no supply in any of the zones.
In addition, this year, for the first time, the community has also begun to penalise excessive consumption, establishing a system whereby prices ranging from 20 euro cents for the first 1,500 litres per day in a 671-square-metre plot, 35 cents if consumption is between 1,500 and 2,999 litres per plot per day, and 0.5 cents if it is more than 3,000 litres per plot per day.
The organisation's secretary, Carlos Álvarez, explained to SUR that although they have no proof "or scientific evidence" of the reason for the serious water shortage in the area, "we suspect that it is due to the transfer of water from the river Chíllar for the supply of water for the supply of the Axarquía."
In his opinion, "We are dealing with the same pocket of water, the same aquifer in short and this is happening to us and to all the communities above the River Chíllar. We are very worried, if it doesn't rain in the autumn we could have serious problems before the end of the year."
He has called upon all members of the irrigation community to be "aware of the difficult situation they are going through" and for "responsible consumption".
"We have to irrigate efficiently and effectively, installing water-saving systems, and analysing the installation well, to optimise the water to the maximum," Álvarez said, adding that a lot of the water goes to the rural properties in the area, the vast majority of which are used for holiday rentals. "We do not supply drinking water, it is irrigation water, but it is another thing if people use it in their homes," he pointed out.
In Nerja, for the moment, no restrictions have been implemented in the San Isidro irrigation community, as was the case in the summer of 2023. From the River Chíllar the transfer of up to 120 litres per second to La Viñuela reservoir is still in place, which means some 3.8 cubic hectometres per year.
This summer the irrigators of the Guaro Plan, with 6,535 hectares, are receiving an extraordinary emergency irrigation of three cubic hectometres from La Viñuela reservoir, having gone without water from there since October 2022. The reservoir has almost 28 hectometres, twice as much as in 2023.
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