Despite the heavy rains reservoirs in the province of Malaga have still not reached half of their required capacity
The heavy rains of the past week, which dumped more than 100 litres per square meter in some parts of the province for two days, mainly in the Guadalhorce Valley and the western coast, have provided almost four more cubic hectometres of water to the reservoirs in Malaga. However, this does not mean that the water shortage situation has changed much. In percentage terms, the reservoirs are still at 37.53% of their capacity, just half a point above what was registered the previous week.
The seven reservoirs in the province of Malaga have accumulated 229.51 cubic hectometres when they have a capacity of 611.48. Last Tuesday, February 7, there were 225.61 hectometres collected. There is also a difference compared to last year, since after the last rainfall the reservoirs gathered 30.5 hectometres more than those registered on February 14, 2022, according to data from the Hidrosur network.
However, there are three reservoirs today that has less accumulated water than a year ago, and the most significant loss is still that of the Viñuela reservoir, which is at 11% of its capacity. This reservoir, with a capacity to store 164 cubic hectometres, the largest in the entire province, currently holds 18.12 cubic hectometres. Last week it was at 18.19 cubic hectometres, so the consumption is higher than the inflow of new flows. A year ago, it had 23.8 cubic hectometres.
The Guadalhorce Conde reservoir is at 30.7% of its capacity, holding just over 20 cubic hectometres. The reservoir holds 45 cubic hectometres, at 36.2% of its capacity. The Limonero reservoir holds the least amount of water, at 8.51 cubic hectometres, and is at 38% of its capacity. The Casasola reservoir, with 9.34 cubic hectometres, does not even reach half of its capacity and stays at 43%.
The only reservoir that has gained reserves this week, besides the Conde de Guadalhorce reservoir, and has the best situation, is the Concepción reservoir. It holds 44.18 cubic hectometres, three more than last week, and is almost at 77% of its capacity. Compared to last year, this reservoir in the western area of the province has collected 20 cubic hectometres more.
For now, the weather forecast does not bring significant precipitation in the coming days which will alleviate the water shortage situation in the countryside or improve reservoir levels. However, there will be another episode of “calima” on Wednesday, where suspended dust will cause the atmosphere to be hazy, visibility to be reduced, and air quality to be worse.
The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) does not rule out the possibility of slight precipitation in the western extreme of the province, although it will be “weak” and “unimportant,” according to Jesús Riesco, director of the Meteorological Center of Malaga. In Malaga city, there is no expected rain throughout the week, although some instability and the possibility of showers increase to 40% on Sunday.
