Around 40 individuals investigated for illegal water abstraction in Malaga province

The Guardia Civil has investigated 36 individuals and two legal entities for committing offences related to the illegal appropriation of public water resources and environmental crimes in Malaga province of Malaga.

Up to 20 crimes were investigated for the exploitation of water resources affecting the environment. In the span of nearly a year, the Guardia Civil have carried out 110 inspections of water extraction and manipulation of infrastructure, mainly involving wells, boreholes and accumulation ponds.

The most serious offence was allegedly committed by the managers of a company selling construction materials, who had been extracting water from wells for sale, industrial use or illegal delivery by tankers to homes and swimming pools for almost five years.

It has been estimated that they supplied around 2,400 tankers, equivalent to a volume of 12 million litres, accumulating profits exceeding 240,000 euros, without taking into account the damage and harm to the public water reserves.

A total of 187 administrative infringements related to illegal abstraction of surface water were also detected.

Other offences include opening of wells or boreholes, construction of ponds and reservoirs without planning permission or illegal conversion of land from dry to irrigated land.

This illegal behavior was aggravated by the "persistent drought" crisis in Malaga province, which lasted for many months on end and made the introduction of strict water restrictions necessary in some areas.