Water crisis
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Although the drought in Malaga is not over, the province has received some good news this week, marking a noticeable improvement in its water reserves. With the rains that the 'Dana' storm brought last weekend and at the start of this week, the levels of three reservoirs have doubled compared to March 2024.
On 4 March 2024, the province was plunged into restrictions due to a severe drought, with only 98 million cubic metres in total. Today, the same reservoirs store 198 million cubic metres. The current situation brings more peace of mind ahead of the high season, which starts this month and extends all the way to the end of the summer. More rain is expected throughout this week, which will contribute further gains to this upward trend.
Particularly striking is the situation on the western Costa del Sol, which now holds three times more water: The La Concepción reservoir near Marbella has gone from having just over 15.3 million cubic metres to 44, which puts it at 77% of its capacity.
The Conde de Guadalhorce reservoir, which supplies Malaga city, has gained 30 million cubic metres, going from 13 to 43 and reaching 64.5% of its maximum capacity.
Although the Axarquia has hardly seen any rain in the last few days, La Viñuela reservoir is also in a better position. The reserves there have shifted from an extreme situation, with only 13 million cubic metres, to almost tripling to the current 36 million cubic metres. This prevents the district from imposing restrictions on domestic consumption. However, considering that the recent gains do not put an end to the drought, there will be restrictions on crop irrigation.
The latest 'Dana' this week hit one of the areas where water is most needed and best used. The cold drop was active mostly over the upper Guadalhorce, where the headwaters of the reservoirs supplying Malaga city are located.
The reservoir with the largest amount of water is the Conde de Guadalhorce, with 43 million cubic metres, followed by the Guadalteba (37.4) and the Guadalhorce (18.5). In addition, Casasola and El Limonero, which are located close to the city, have barely moved, with their levels standing at 11.5 and 7 million cubic metres, respectively. The sum total of all of the reserves guarantees water for practically two years of consumption in the Costa del Sol capital.
Another advantage of the Guadalhorce river is that several of its tributaries are still quite full, which will provide the reservoirs with runoff for a few more days. The flow of the Turón, for example, is still at 12.21 cubic metres per second despite having a red emergency level in place. This is more than ten times the flow required by the city of Malaga.
In the next few days, it is expected that heavy rainfall in the Genal valley, Sierra Bermeja, Sierra de las Nieves and Serranía de Ronda areas will feed the La Concepción reservoir, which also receives the water from the Verde and the Guadalmina-Guadaiza-Guadalmansa triple transfer.
It is less likely that the Guadalhorce and Guadalteba will contribute a lot to their corresponding reservoirs, unless the area sees heavy rainfall over the next few days. The situation is similar for the Campanillas (Casasola) and La Viñuela.
The rain doesn't stop here. The 'Dana' cold drop will be reactivated today and tomorrow, followed by an Atlantic storm, which is expected to arrive on Friday and be active at least until Sunday. Together, the two will leave abundant and widespread showers throughout the province, which will contribute further gains in the coming weeks.
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