The municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol region are facing new coordinated measures to control the effects of the drought, which has been dragging on since the end of 2018. The Association of Municipalities, through the public company managing the integral water cycle Acosol, has planned the regulation of supplies in the region to be carried out by all local operators in their respective municipalities, which will involve a reduction in drinking water pressure to adjust to the restrictions and alleviate as much as possible the consumption of the reservoir.
This will be carried out gradually and across the board in all the municipalities belonging to the 'Mancomunidad' from next Wednesday 21st of February at night, approximately between 00:00 hours and 6:00 hours every day of the week, with the exception of Saturdays. During these hours, there may be homes and commercial premises that do not have a water supply, mainly buildings that do not have a water tank, but also those located in higher areas and further away from the main network in each municipality. The supply will be restored progressively from 6:00 a.m. onwards.
The mayoress of Mijas, Ana Mata (PP), pointed out that "we are starting night-time restrictions, which will consist of lowering the pressure and there will be areas, mainly the highest in the municipality, which will see how these restrictions will turn into no water at all".
These new joint measures to alleviate the effects of the prolonged drought come after the decision taken by the Andalusian Drought Committee which restricts water consumption to 160 litres per inhabitant per day for the whole province of Malaga, when up until now the limit was 200 litres per inhabitant per day. The aim of these new measures is to bring the municipalities into line with the new limit set by the Committee.
Exceptional drought situation
The region of the Western Costa del Sol is in a situation of exceptional drought and severe shortage following the order of the Drought Commission of the Andalusian Regional Government published in the BOJA on October 30th. This has meant that since then the public awareness and prohibitive measures set out 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 watering, filling and refilling swimming pools (except for exceptional authorisations granted by the drought commission), cleaning of vehicles (except for authorised establishments), fountains and lakes without closed water circuits or fountains and public showers.
These measures were contemplated in municipal ordinances that were coordinated by Acosol with the eleven municipalities of the Costa del Sol. " The Mijas Town Hall started some time ago with these restrictions and to ask for the collaboration of the citizens in order not to waste water unnecessarily; all the watering that has taken place in this municipality has been with non-drinking water", added Mata.
With the publication of the new decree-law approved by the Governing Council of the Andalusian Regional Government, important investments have been launched to increase the guarantees of human supply, such as the expansion of the capacity of the desalination plant in Marbella and the implementation of desalination plants in the wells located in Estepona and Fuengirola. These actions are combined with others carried out and covered by recent decrees, such as the replacement of the Rojas pumping station that connects the Costa del Sol with Malaga and which will allow a supply of resources to the Costa del Sol. In addition, with the new publication, the procedures for the authorisation of desalination plants and new boreholes will be streamlined through emergency procedures.
Penalties
The regulations issued by the Regional Government also enable the imposition of punitive measures on those users who consume water excessively, irresponsibly and unscrupulously, given the shortage. Special attention will be paid to excessive consumption. Acosol is calling for maximum public cooperation to save water consumption in every home and to raise awareness of the importance of saving our "most precious vital resource". The organisation reminds us that "it is finite" and that we must preserve it for as long as possible, therefore, it adds, "we call for responsible consumption, remembering that the water needed to water a small garden one day is equivalent to what a family needs for domestic use for 10 days".
The mayoress of Mijas also referred to these measures "that appear in this fourth drought decree", the councillor spoke of "the penalties for municipalities, so we are going to be very vigilant with the consumption of water because we have to reach those percentages, that is, not to exceed 160 litres per person per day".
These new measures have been agreed in the Costa del Sol drought committees, which are made up of all the municipalities, as well as the 'Mancomunidad' and Acosol, together with all the operators that provide services in the region. Acosol highlights the "great coordination and collaboration between all the operators and the municipalities in the region so that, in a unanimous and decisive manner, the effects of this prolonged drought can continue to be tackled".
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