Drought
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La Viñuela reservoir in the Axarquía area to the east of Malaga province has been the living image of the province's drought for almost six years. And it is still at a serious level, but nothing like the situation it was in last year, which forced the Junta de Andalucía to install a system of pumps in an effort to extract the last of its resources . The reservoir has undergone a spectacular change since the 'Dana' which swept through the province on Wednesday 21 November as it has gained almost 50% of its reserves since then.
The storm was particularly virulent in the Axarquía and caused serious problems in the rivers Vélez and Benamargosa, which burst their banks. In the case of the former, a thousand residents had to be evacuated. In the case of the latter, serious damage was caused in the village of the same name. The river reached a depth of six metres at one point. In other villages in the area, such as Comares, 268mm were measured in one day.
La Viñuela reservoir received less direct precipitation, some 70mm, but it is the runoff which is having an effect. This has allowed it to rise from 24 hm3 to almost 36 in a few days. This time last year it had 12.
In fact, it is on the verge of overtaking La Concepción, between Marbella and Istán, as the reservoir that stores the most water in the province, something which La Concepción has maintained since April for the first time in history. However, the runoff also continues to feed the reservoir, which has already exceeded 36 hm3.
Last year the Junta de Andalucía invested 743,000 euros in the aforementioned floating pumps which are used when a reservoir is declared 'dead'. At these times, the quality of the water also drops considerably, due to the accumulation of organic matter and the fall in oxygen. The Junta also contracted a study to evaluate fish stocks in La Viñuela, for 16,300 euros.
Similarly, the Andalusian government allocated almost one million euros to the cleaning and security of the different tunnels and transfers that make up La Viñuela system, which is also the largest reservoir in the province, with a capacity of 164 hm3. It is only at 21.45%, but the recent gain does mean the area could move from severe drought, the highest level, to serious. There is still some 5.5 hm3 to go and it will be difficult to achieve with expected runoff, but it is the closest the Axarquía reservoir has come in recent years.
The situation had led to farmers being unable to use water from the reservoir for irrigation and regenerated water was being brought to the Axarquía from the Peñón del Cuervo water plant in Malaga city. It was also coming from water treatment plants in Rincón de la Victoria, Algarrobo, Vélez-Málaga and Torrox, all with an investment that exceeded nine million euros.
The Axarquía needs 22 hm3 each year for domestic supply alone. For many months it was receiving almost 300 litres per second served by Emasa in Malaga city. Here there was another key investment of 588,000 euros in the improvement of the pumping in La Rosaleda. Furthermore the River Chíllar wells in Nerja (which received 2.6 million euros of investment) have been providing a crucial relief, as they supply almost a third of the consumption.
The two almost consecutive Danas have allowed the province's reservoirs to recover all the consumption and evaporation of the summer. On Wednesday 20 November they equalled the 170 hm3 that they held on 13 May, when the runoff from the heavy rainfall in March stopped. The difference is that now there are theoretically rainy months ahead.
La Casasola reservoir in Almogía has more than 15 hm3 stored, which will be used to reinforce the supply to Malaga. It has also increased its reserves by 50% in one week.
The reservoirs of the Guadalhorce have increased to a lesser extent. The Guadalteba and Conde del Guadalhorce each exceed 29 hm3, while the Guadalhorce is heading towards 19. The latter two reservoirs have been at historic lows at some point during this prolonged drought. The level of the Limonero, which is hardly used for water supply, has doubled to 6.6 hm3.
In summary, Malaga province's reservoirs are at 28% of their capacity and have 60 hm3 more than this time last year.
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