The Andalucian government’s drought committee has introduced stricter water restrictions for Malaga and the Guadalhorce Valley. The committee decided to do this because despite Friday’s rain, the Guadalhorce-Limonero system has gone from serious to extreme scarcity.
Therefore, the maximum water consumption has now been set at 160 litres per person per day in Costa del Sol, Axarquía and Málaga. This new measure is in addition to the restrictions already introduced in the province to tackle the drought. More than a dozen municipalities have been dealing with nightly water cuts for weeks (from midnight, sometimes from 10.00 pm, 9.00 pm or even earlier if necessary). Other places are experiencing depressurisation. The Junta has already warned that if the situation does not improve, water may have to be brought to Málaga by tanker ships in the summer.
Also read: Costa del Sol water restrictions further tightened
Average water consumption of a Spaniard
The maximum water consumption per inhabitant of 160 litres per day is still well above the Spanish average consumption. At 132 litres per day, this is considerably lower compared to other countries. Norwegians use more than 200 litres of water per day and Slovenians only 60 litres per day.
Other water restrictions
Among the further agreed restrictions there is a ban on the use of drinking water for the following:
- Cleaning the streets
- Filling private swimming pools
- Watering gardens, both public and private parks
- Watering golf courses
- Washing cars outside authorised establishments
- Decorative fountains that do not have a closed water circuit
- Public showers and water points in the systems declared exceptional drought and severe scarcity. These are the western Costa del Sol, Guadalhorce-Limonero and Axarquía-Viñuela).
Also read: Red alert: Drastic water restrictions in place for Málaga
