Guadalquivir basin water level will end in an “emergency”

Guadalquivir basin water level will end in an “emergency”, according to the Association of Irrigation Communities of Andalusia (Feragua).

Feragua have become extremely concerned regarding “the lack of water” and they have highlighted that the Guadalquivir basin will end in the state of “emergency”. The association has asked the authorities “to activate the mechanisms that make it possible to declare the emergency decrees due to drought”.

The lack of water in the basin is extremely worrying and is expected this will carry on severely affecting farmers. Pedro Parias, the general secretary for the association spoke with Canal Sur Television. He highlighted last week that we “entered into emergency situation according to the drought plan of the Guadalquivir basin”.

The rice sector has already been suffering and “has only sown 50 percent of its surface area”. The water levels will severely affect farmers and “means a great effort on the part of the farmers to make the best use of the water available to try to save the situation” said Parias.

He also commented on how it would be difficult for farmers “to be able to generate wealth and pay the debts they have in terms of the modernisation system and the investments made by the farms themselves”.

“The presidency of the Hydrographic Confederation of the Guadalquivir (CHG) announced in June that it would try to approve the drought decree in September or October,” said Parias. The approval process is complicated though, and has to go through the “Board of Governors of the CHG and then submit it to the central government”

The Central government then have the power to approve a decree and also look at financial measures to help the situation faced by the farmers.

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