The president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, pointed out this Wednesday that, despite the current drought, urban water consumption is "guaranteed" in the community for "more than a year and a half", and along these lines does not foresee water restrictions in "tourist and urban" areas this summer in the region.
"Where there are going to be restrictions, and they already are, is in inland areas that are fed by aquifers that have not been able to be renewed because it has not rained," the president of the Board specified in an interview on Onda Cero.
In response to questions about the consequences of the drought suffered by Spain in general and Andalusia in a special way, Juanma Moreno has clarified that "in the urban and tourist areas par excellence" of the autonomous community he does not anticipate that there will have to be "restrictions" in water consumption this summer because "there is a drought protocol in which water adjustments are made in order", so that "first" they are applied to the "industrial sector", then to agriculture and, "finally, to urban consumption", and in this area the consumption of water "is guaranteed" for a period of "around more than a year and a half", as indicated.
In any case, the president has indicated that the Andalusian government is promoting "awareness measures in the urban area", as well as "limitation of treated water", where "we are going to have a much more exhaustive control", according to warned before insisting, however, that "this summer tourism, from a practical point of view, is not at risk", but "the agricultural and livestock sector is, which moves tens of thousands of jobs, tens of millions euros", and that for Andalusia "is one of our great lungs and fixed population in the interior", as Moreno has remarked.
Along these lines, the head of the Andalusian Executive has warned that "if it does not rain in spring we have a serious problem" in this community, which has already accumulated "five years" in which it has rained "less than the natural average of our climate" , and where the current month of April is being "especially exceptional", with "zero rainfall" in the eight Andalusian provinces despite being "the quintessential month of rain in our climate".
This circumstance has already meant, "for now, the loss of 35,000 jobs in the Andalusian agri-food sector" and "one point less than the growth forecast for next year", and "if the drought were extreme, we could lose up to seven points of our GDP", according to what the president of the Junta has reported, who has highlighted that Andalusia is "the leading agricultural power in Spain", with a "very powerful" primary sector that has "a direct impact on employment and in all that value chain that the agri-food, agricultural and livestock industry has", has abounded.
