Drought crisis
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Just as forest fires are extinguished in winter, drought is beaten in times like the present where rain has brought some relief. Still, not all of Malaga province is free of water shortages, but there's no doubt that the ordeal of recent years has been overcome. It is time to review and demand pending actions for our water resources. What is certain is that, with the bulletins and budgets in hand, the action of the different governing bodies has been very different. The regional government has invested over 400 million euros in Malaga province while the state contribution has been minimal. It should be pointed out that the regional government has jurisdiction over this matter but, and this is the crux of the situation, there are actions required that are declared to be of general interest to the state. There are 18 such measures, according to information provided by the regional ministry of agriculture, and 15 of those are pending.
They constitute widely different projects, totalling over two billion euros of pending investment. Some are certain never to be undertaken, others are in the embryonic stage, some are already somewhere in the planning process and several others are coming to an end (in this case because they have been included in the various regional drought plans).
What are these 18 hydraulic works?
This measure would consist of taking advantage of the water resources coming from the Genal river, adding them to those of the triple transfer link of the Guadaiza-Guadalmina-Guadalmansa rivers and those of the Verde river too. Planning has not even started on this. The fact is that La Concepción reservoir itself has a limited capacity to take in more water flows.
The purpose of the dam on the river Ojén, which starts in the Sierra Alpujata and flows into the Fuengirola river, would be flood abatement, water supply to the Costa del Sol and irrigation of its own flood basin. In the 1990s the budget was estimated at just over 2.89 billion pesetas (15 million euros).
The dam on the Arroyo Alaminos, better known as Fuengirola river, would be similar to the aforementioned dam and its budget was around 3.15 billion pesetas (18 million euros).
This is an action included in Malaga's part of the country's national hydrological plan. Fortunately, only the El Atabal desalination plant was completed, which has contributed so much to strengthening the city's supply system. Little progress has been made on irrigation. This is a recurrent complaint from local farmers, who suffer from periods of drought and the effects of an outdated supply network with large water losses.
The state has also not addressed this project for a pipeline that starts at the Tajo de la Encantada and branches off near Paredones dam to separate both uses.
The reservoir is a proposal from the 1990s, included in Spain's national hydrological plan. It had a capacity of between 45 and 50 million cubic metres and would be located in the municipalities of Guaro, Monda and Coín. However, it was strongly contested by politicians and agricultural and environmental groups because of its effects on the Sierra de las Nieves.
The dam idea was scaled back and evolved into the form of a weir for water containment, larger than the one at Aljaima, this time planned between Guaro and Coín, with the aim of using 20 million cubic metres per year (more than a third of Malaga city's consumption). It would cost 57 million euros and would carry a large 38-kilometre pipeline to Aljaima first and then to El Atabal. The maximum planned flow was 4,000 litres per second. The feasibility report was issued by the state company Acuamed in March 2006, but that was the end of it.
This project was also included in the national hydrological plan. In 2016, even an outline of the project was presented. However, it has now been discarded in favour of a future dam between Malaga and Cadiz provinces, the Gibralmedina dam, which will regulate supplies from the Guadiaro river and will serve to transfer treated water to the Costa del Sol at a rate of around 15 million cubic metres per year.
The design envisaged the same foundations and materials as the current dam, which has been in use for 52 years. The increase in the reservoir's volume would bring its capacity up to 180 million cubic metres: 123 more than now. A guaranteed supply for the population growth forecasts for at least the next 40 years. Also affording the transfer of water resources to Malaga city and the Axarquía area once the facilities are in place, not forgetting the capacity to receive transfers from the Genal river.
Some investments are gradually becoming more visible. The Junta is working on two reservoirs to increase the use of reclaimed water. Remember that the Axarquía is connected to the Peñón del Cuervo, which sends about nine million cubic metres annually. This pipeline was also built as part of the drought plans.
The aforementioned reservoirs, with a capacity of 0.25 million cubic metres, currently have a budget of almost 18 million euros.
Guadalhorce reservoir has a very high salt concentration due to inflows from the Meliones spring and others such as Cañaveralejo. The work was also included in Malaga's hydrological plan but, technically speaking, the key to isolating these discharges was never found. Moreover, El Atabal desalination plant can treat this water without major problems. Even during the worst of the drought, the salt concentration doubles.
Improvements to connections between Malaga city and the Costa del Sol remain mostly pending. It's true that the Junta de Andalucía has taken over and completed the Rojas (Churriana) reversible pumping station, with a capacity to transfer 500 litres of water per second in both directions. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go regarding pipelines, something that both the Junta and Acosol have on their agenda.
The process to complete sanitation work in the Guadiaro river area is well behind schedule. In fact, the Spanish government has just put out to tender a contract for technical assistance to prepare a study of alternatives, an environmental impact study and a preliminary project to deal with where best to locate the wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) for two of the villages in the upper basin of the Guadiaro river, namely Benaoján and Montejaque.
This is a flood control measure that is in its early stages. The first thing is to secure the Azucarera bridge (named after the old sugar factory there). This project is being carried out by Malaga city council. Afterwards, central government will invest 36 million euros to increase the bridge's spans and complete other complementary improvements. In theory, this is the final work to put an end to flooding in this area around the Guadalhorce river. This safety measure could only be reinforced by damming the Rio Grande, if such a task is ever undertaken.
In Bajo Guadalhorce, the Junta is investing more than 15 million euros to restore old wells abandoned in the 1990s. The job is nearing completion and includes the tanks, electrical systems and pipelines to El Atabal. Work is underway on five wells in the areas of Perales (Santa Teresa industrial estate) and Puente del Rey (near the airport). Emasa's estimates indicate flow rates of over 800 litres per second.
Marbella's desalination plant started up in 2005 with a nominal capacity of 20 million cubic metres per year. It gradually became obsolete and eventually declined to six. Now the regional government, in collaboration with Acosol, is finalising the recovery of that former production level. This has been done in two phases. Furthermore, a multi-million-euro investment is planned to save 30% of energy. All these projects total 17 million euros. It should be noted that this is a state-owned plant (Acuamed).
In the case of the Marbella desalination plant, it was not technically possible to scale up to 30 million cubic metres. That is why the Mijas-Fuengirola plant was proposed, which Acuamed awarded in 2008 to Sacyr, Sadyt and Construcciones Vera, for 61.7 million euros. Financing was shared equally by Acuamed (central government) and Andalucía's water agency (regional government), with 50% coming from European funds. The desalination plant was supposed to produce some 20 million cubic metres per year. It was abandoned, and the contractor had to be compensated. Now Acosol and the Junta have put it back on the agenda and will work on the preliminary project, but it will have to be located elsewhere.
The other desalination plant, which is further ahead in its development, is that of Vélez. The Spanish government is financing this project to the tune of 100 million euros, which will be repaid over a long period by the users, who are grouped together, but are made up of the water company Axaragua and those who use the water for irrigation. The plant will produce 24 million cubic metres per year, half for irrigation and half for urban use. There have been disagreements regarding the land and the preliminary project is not yet ready.
As for wastewater reuse in Malaga city, the most significant initiative is the aforementioned Peñón del Cuervo project. However, its uses will continue to expand with the extension of the Guadalhorce WWTP and the modification of the discharge point to recharge aquifers. There are also projects underway with Torremolinos for irrigation of green areas. Then, of course, the tertiary water from the North WWTP, hampered by delays and legal challenges, will have to be taken into account.
The complete sanitation of the Costa del Sol has allegedly been completed. What remains to be resolved is the controversy over Nerja's WWTP, which has not been accepted by the town hall and is being handled by the government in Madrid. This, however, is considered a second-stage issue. In some other locations the treatment plants and collectors are also left wanting. In others, there is the problem of saline intrusion. In the case of saltwater ingress, there are pending actions in Istán, between Estepona and San Pedro, in Manilva, in La Cala de Mijas, Casares and La Víbora.
With regard to the intrusion problems outlined above, the provincial authority (Diputación) is investing in certain areas along both the western and eastern stretches of the Costa del Sol hand in hand with their respective 'mancomunidades' (the two alliances of all these coastal towns).
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