Release of water from eastern Malaga province dams for irrigation to start

Farms in the Axarquía area to the east of Malaga province will start to receive water from La Viñuela reservoir for agricultural irrigation as of Monday 26 May. The timetable was finalised at a meeting between the regional technicians and farmers on Wednesday 21 May. SUR has learned that the release of water, which will last until the end of the water year (30 September), will benefit 6,471 hectares of land, which results in an allocation of 1,978 cubic metres per hectare per year.

The famers themselves will be responsible for managing their water allocation which they have the possibility of mixing with recycled water from the province's waste water treatment plants (WWTP). The area has the capacity to produce 21 million cubic metres per year of this water from its treatment plants and recycled water from the Peñón del Cuervo WWTP (Malaga).

The quality of the water from the WWTPs is sometimes threatened by saline intrusion and transport and storage are also issues that need to be addressed. While the provincial authority, the Diputación de Málaga, is trying to tackle salt seepage, the Junta de Andalucía has two new projects underway. These are the Benajarafe and the Cerro de la Encina reservoirs, carried out by Tragsa and for which another 2.5 million euro contract has just been awarded for the leasing of heavy machinery. Verosa will be the company responsible for the management of the project and the infrastructure is part of the Rincón de la Victoria WWTP.

Another key issue on the Axarquía's agricultural horizon is the future desalination plant in Vélez-Málaga, which is still at the preliminary design stage. Once it is up and running it will produce 25 million cubic metres per year, half for domestic supply and the other half for irrigation.

Since Monday 19 May the Guadalhorce reservoir has been releasing water for fields in the Guadalhorce valley. It will be a continuous supply until it is exhausted. At first, 800 litres per second (300 for the left bank and 500 for the right). After that, it will gradually increase to 1,200 (300 and 900). As a reference measure, domestic supply in Malaga city exceeds 1,500 litres per second.

The water is discharged via the Tajo de la Encantada, into which the Guadalhorce system (Guadalhorce, Conde de Guadalhorce and Guadalteba) flows. This water forks a few metres downstream of the Encantada, at the so-called Paredones weir. This structure diverts the water to the two banks. The left bank is used entirely by farmers and the right bank is shared by farmers and Malaga city.

All in all, Malaga province has 42.8 million cubic metres of reservoir water allocated for irrigation this season, well above last year's 12 (nine for the Guadalhorce and three for the Axarquía). Subtropical and citrus fruits will benefit the most, although other crops will also receive the water.