Water levels in Malaga's reservoirs drop again for yet another week, despite the rain from storm Juan

The passage of the storm christened Juan by Spain's state weather agency (Aemet) has brought more ado about nothing to Malaga province, which has not been able to overcome the drought situation it has been in for too many months now. Yesterday (Friday 19 January) it did rain, but not enough - neither in terms of amounts nor in terms of the location of the largest accumulations - to help alleviate the shortage, especially in view of the critical period facing the coming summer.

The weather trough and the cold front associated with the storm saw more than 30mm collected in the westernmost part of the province. At the other extreme, there was almost no sign of the downpours expected in the Axarquia, the region most affected by the drought crisis and water cuts, and where Aemet even activated a yellow alert, warning of the risk of downpours of up to 15mm of rain in an hour.

One of the most benefited areas (among those vital for supply to the Costa del Sol) was the La Concepción reservoir, which received more than 26mm, according to data from the Junta de Andalucía's Hidrosur network. Although this is not a bad statistic, until late yesterday afternoon there was hardly any net increase in reserves, which almost equalled the reserves of the previous week (13 cubic hectometres).

Otherwise, the wettest spots were again in the inland areas of the far west of Malaga province, especially in Cortes de la Frontera and the Genal river (Jubrique), both around 33mm; Ojén (32); Marbella (30) and Los Reales de Sierra Bermeja (25). In the Guadalhorce Valley, Coín recorded 25 mm, while in the Axarquía, the most outstanding area was once again Alfarnatejo (18mm). Meanwhile, the rain gauge at La Viñuela reservoir recorded a reasonable 15mm. In the area around Malaga city, at the Casasola reservoir, there was 17mm, although only 8mm at El Limonero.

If the comparison is extended to the 19 days that have elapsed in January, it can be seen that rainfall has been relatively abundant in some areas of the western interior, although most of them are not connected to the reservoirs, so it is not possible to store this water. But at least it will allow the aquifers to be recharged, which are a key resource for dealing with this period of critical shortages.

In this analysis, Cortes de la Frontera again stands out, which has accumulated 92mm; followed by Los Reales (88), the Genal river (85) and Pujerra (86). Also in this ranking of the wettest spots in the province is the La Concepción reservoir, which has already collected 55mm, followed by Casasola (29) and Guadalteba (23). However, these amounts are still very low in relation to demand.