They reduce water pressure to save. The municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol region, in Malaga, are also implementing this measure to alleviate the dramatic effects of the extreme drought that has hit the region hard since 2018 and is already taking place in other parts of Andalusia.
In fact, with the same objective and with the intention of raising awareness among citizens, the Drought Management Commission of the Andalusian Mediterranean Basins set a maximum consumption of 160 liters of water per person per day, especially on the coast of Malaga ( Axarquía included) and Campo de Gibraltar.
From the Commonwealth of Municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol, and through the public company that manages the integral water cycle Acosol, the regulation of the region's supplies has been planned to be carried out by all local operators in their respective municipalities, which will mean a pressure reduction to adjust to the restrictions and alleviate reservoir consumption as much as possible. This will be carried out gradually and generally in all the municipalities belonging to the Commonwealth starting next Wednesday, February 21, they indicated in a statement.
The new measures are motivated by the decision adopted by the Andalusian Drought Committee that limits the entire province of Malaga to 160 liters per inhabitant per day, when until now the limit was 200 liters per inhabitant/day. In this way, it is intended to adjust to the new line set by the drought committee.
The region of the Western Costa del Sol is in a situation of exceptional drought and serious shortages following the order of the Drought Commission of the Government of Andalusia, published in the BOJA on October 30.
Thus, they have recalled that this has meant that since then the citizen awareness and prohibitive measures included in the drought decree have been established, preventing the irrigation with drinking water of public and private parks and gardens, irrigation of golf courses, both public and private washdowns. private, filling and refilling of swimming pools (except for exceptional authorizations granted by the drought commission), cleaning of vehicles (except for authorized establishments), fountains and lakes without a closed water circuit or public fountains and showers. These measures were contemplated in municipal parties that were coordinated by Acosol with the eleven municipalities of the Costa del Sol.
To these measures, which were already underway since then, this regulation of supplies will be added, which will cause the reduction of pressure in all municipal drinking water supply networks, so, as a consequence, foreseeable consumption limitations that will coincide with nighttime stretches approximately between 00:00 and 06:00 every day of the week except Saturdays.
During this time, it may happen that there are homes and commercial premises that do not have a water supply, mainly buildings that lack a cistern, but also those located in high areas and further away from the main network in each municipality. The restoration of supply will be carried out progressively starting at 06:00.
With the publication of the new decree-law approved by the Government Council of the Government of Andalusia, "relevant investments" are launched to increase the guarantees of human supply, such as the expansion of the capacity of the Marbella desalination plant and the implementation of desalination plants in the wells located in Estepona and Fuengirola.
These actions join others executed and covered by recent decrees such as the replacement of the Rojas pumping that connects the Costa del Sol with Malaga and that will allow a contribution of resources to the Costa del Sol. Additionally, with the new publication, the procedures for the authorization of desalination plants and new surveys through emergency processing.
The regulations issued by the Board also enable the imposition of sanctioning measures on those users who engage in excessive, irresponsible and unsupportive consumption, given the situation of shortage. Excessive consumption will be monitored and special attention will be paid.
Likewise, Acosol requests maximum citizen collaboration to save water consumption in each home and raise awareness about the importance of saving our "most precious vital resource" which "is finite and we must preserve it for as long as possible and we call to responsible consumption", remembering that the water needed to irrigate a small garden one day is equivalent to what a family needs for domestic use for ten days.
These new measures are agreed upon in the drought tables of the Costa del Sol made up of all the municipalities, as well as the Commonwealth and Acosol, together with all the operators that provide service in the region.
Finally, Acosol has highlighted "the great coordination and collaboration" between all the operators and all the town councils in the region "so that the effects of this prolonged drought continue to be faced unanimously and decisively."
