Junta head rules out need to bring water by tanker ships to Malaga this summer

The need to bring tanker ships into the Port of Malaga to help ease the province and region's critical water shortage has been ruled out by the head of the Junta de Andalucía.

One of the measures being considered by the regional government to tackle drought crisis was to load ships with desalinated water from the Escombreras plant in the Murcian port city of Cartagena and brought to the Port of Malaga. But thanks to the Easter rains, there is currently enough water in the province's reservoirs to not need to rely on tanker ships for supplies.

Junta president Juanma Moreno confirmed this after analysing the effect the rain had on the region's dams. "We are in a position to affirm that it will no longer be necessary to bring ships loaded with water from Murcia," he said.

According to Moreno, "the difficult situation we were living through" has been alleviated. He pointed out reservoirs in Malaga province have gained 30 cubic hectometres in the last few days, although he said they are still far from their full capacity. "La Viñuela has gained 60% of its reservoir water, but it is still only at 15% of its capacity," he added.

Moreno continued to call for "responsible" water consumption and management, and insisted progress must be made in the planned water infrastructures. "We are going to maintain the investments for the planned infrastructures," he said.

However, despite the call for caution, Moreno's intervention served to confirm that the rains of the Easter week are driving away the worst ghosts of drought. Transporting water by boat from Murcia to different parts of Andalucía, including Malaga, was an absolute last resort. It would involve using bulk tankers of around 140 metres in length, capable of carrying up to 40,000m3 of water. The ships are loaded by pipes running through the centre of the hull, which distribute the cargo into a series of tanks.