Drought update: “Ground Zero”

The Andalucian Regional Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Carmen Crespo, conveyed a message of calm to the Marbella tourism sector and has said that all, “possible measures” are being taken to alleviate the drought situation in the province of Malaga, which she described as, “ground zero”.

“Our priority is to guarantee the water supply to the population and alleviate the effects of the drought“, she said. Andalucia has now approved the fourth decree against drought, which will mobilise more than €217 million and 81hm3 of water.

The decree envisages emergency actions, which the regional government expects to be completed before next summer, while opening up a €40 million funding to fix existing leaks in the network. In addition, there are other actions in the pipeline, such as the drilling of boreholes near Fuengirola and Estepona, where the installation of desalination plants is also planned.

The CEO of water supply company Acosol, Matilde Mancha, said, “Acosol welcomes these new measures with optimism given the complexity of the drought emergency situation that we continue to suffer and we have already made available to the Junta de Andalucía all our technical and human resources”.

She added, “We appeal for individual responsibility and we want to call for public awareness, prioritising drinking water consumption, as just one day’s watering of a small garden is enough to supply a family for ten days”.