Water crisis
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This reservoir dates back to 1972. It was designed to meet the needs of a Costa del Sol that was only then beginning to take off. The latest bathymetry (water volume checks) puts its capacity at 57.54 million cubic metres. Back again to the 1970s, it was soon realised that this was too little for what was needed. This became even more of an issue when three small diversion dams were added to transfer water from the Guadalmina, Guadaiza and Guadalmansa rivers, in addition to the reservoir's main river source: the Río Verde. There once was a project to raise the dam even higher, but it never got beyond paper. Now it has been practically thrown out the window in favour of the new Gibralmedina reservoir on the provincial border between Malaga and Cadiz, which will make use of water supplies from the Guadiaro river and transfer unfiltered water back to the Costa del Sol.
40.04
million cubic metres of water were stored in La Concepción reservoir at midday last Friday. This is almost three times more than this time last year. Moreover, it is almost half of the annual consumption for the Costa del Sol.
When analysing the filling data on Malaga's reservoirs in recent days, it is curious to note that La Concepción continues to fill. Granted, it fills at a slow pace, but more water is entering the reservoir than is being taken out for consumption or being lost while maintenance work goes on, or even through evaporation. At midday last Friday, it had 40.04 million cubic metres. This is almost half of the annual consumption of the Costa del Sol. Furthermore, in gross terms it is almost three times what it had accumulated by the same time last year. Further proof of how grateful we should be to have such a well-designed reservoir.
35
kilometres is the course of its main river source, the Río Verde, which in turn has a catchment area of 150 square kilometres with its source in the Sierra de las Nieves.
La Concepción is located between Marbella and Istán. The Río Verde flows there, which runs for 35 kilometres and has its source in the Sierra de las Nieves, straddling the municipalities of Tolox, Parauta and Istán. It is a water catchment area of 150 square kilometres and here the inflows are important. The slopes upstream of the reservoir, which are between 22% and 13%, also help.
The Guadaiza river has its source in Igualeja, right at the intersection of the Serranía de Ronda and Sierra Bermeja. The Guadalmina river also has its source nearby and the Guadalmansa spouts forth from between Faraján and Pujerra (also part of the Serranía de Ronda). They all come together in the Behahavís-Estepona area and send water to the main reservoir of La Concepción through diversion tunnels.
35.95
million cubic metres of water are stored in the next largest reservoir in Malaga province, La Viñuela.
It so happens that, for the first time in history, since April last year, La Concepción is the reservoir to be storing the most water in Malaga province. Yet, funnily enough, its size is rather discreet compared to others. Right now these 40 million cubic metres are more than the 35.95 of La Viñuela, the 32.78 of the Guadalteba, the 27.44 of the Conde de Guadalhorce, the 16.12 of the Guadalhorce, the 11.58 of Casasola and the 6.93 of the Limonero. Note, however, that the last two are designed to catch floodwaters and are only used as a storage resource in extraordinary circumstances. All these reservoirs total 171 million cubic metres and are 28% full, which is much better than 12 months ago when they had clearly fallen below 100.
The Costa del Sol is at the least severe level of drought (moderate) and is flirting with normality. It is not a straightforward matter because high levels of topping up are required in the coming months before summer's peak. In addition, jumping from one drought status to another can only happen after considerable time has passed of meeting the requirements of that level as set out in the Junta's drought plan.
20
million cubic metres per year will be produced by the Marbella desalination plant when the work to modernise and restore the nominal capacity of the plant, carried out by the Junta with the support of Acosol, is completed.
In summer La Concepción reservoir will be bolstered by the recovery to full operational capacity of Marbella's desalination plant, which will produce 20 million cubic metres per year of seawater made ready for consumption. Also, there are approximately another 10 million cubic metres from the wells of Fuengirola and Guadalmansa and the municipal resources coming from the 11 towns that make up the Mancomunidad (the municipal alliance of these towns along the western side of the Costa del Sol).
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