anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Are you looking for information or help in the garden. Post your agriculture, flora and fauna questions, suggestions and comments here.
User avatar
Wicksey
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5878
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:21 pm
Location: Axarquia coast

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby Wicksey » Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:37 pm

Very true gavilan about the early 2000s when the building boom arrived here. There is constant mango planting around us and the water situation is a worry to us. There is also a lot of building again as well, with several small casitas going up and existing properties being enlarged. A lot of new apartment blocks are being built on the Costa too so more water needed for those.

Lavanda
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 6191
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:42 pm
Location: Cáceres Province, Extremadura

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby Lavanda » Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:32 pm

There were plans 20 plus years ago for a desalination plant in the area. Has that been shelved indefinitely?

User avatar
costakid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5754
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2005 11:55 am
Location: malaga este

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby costakid » Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:59 pm

Lavanda wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:32 pm There were plans 20 plus years ago for a desalination plant in the area. Has that been shelved indefinitely?
Still in the talking stage. Crazy how long things take to get done in Spain.

Lavanda
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 6191
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:42 pm
Location: Cáceres Province, Extremadura

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby Lavanda » Wed Jan 19, 2022 8:21 am

:crazy:

gavilan
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 2163
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2006 11:59 am
Location: Alcaucin

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby gavilan » Wed Jan 19, 2022 10:48 am

some are saying that desalination plant will only encourage more planting of sub-tropicals ...

User avatar
Wicksey
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5878
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:21 pm
Location: Axarquia coast

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby Wicksey » Wed Jan 19, 2022 10:56 am

If it's anything like the water treatment works in Nerja that are about 30 years in the making, I cannot see a desalination plant appearing in the near future. I thought that water was supposed to be piped down from the north of Spain, but again, possibly only talk of it rather than any action.

El Cid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 16058
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 10:42 pm
Location: La Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby El Cid » Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:43 am

There is a huge reservoir behind the new Rules dam on the way up to Granada. It cost hundreds of millions, but they neglected to install any pipework at all to enable it to be used for irrigation. It's been like that for nearly 20 years.

Re desalination plants, when we first came to Spain in 1995, there had been a 7 year drought and the situation was worse than now. They were bringing water tankers in by sea and planned to build 4 desalination plants in the area. Then in December it rained almost every day until March. Problem solved, desalination plants cancelled.

They are very expensive to run and with the current energy crisis probably not viable. What they could do is recycle waste water. That's a cheaper process, but someone has to do the distribution and that doesn't seem to be happening.

Sid

Lavanda
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 6191
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:42 pm
Location: Cáceres Province, Extremadura

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby Lavanda » Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:03 pm

Come and look at how it is done in Extremadura. Both the Tajo and Guadiana are controlled but the Guadiana had the Orellana canal system built in the Franco years which send water hundreds of kilometres to irrigate the important agricultural area for fruit, tomatoes and maize 10 kilometres to the south of where I live.

https://canalorellana.es

Scroll a bit for the map. Off the canal are hundreds of much smaller channels taking water to fields and plantations. The Moors installed an amazing irrigation system in Andalucia. What happened to it? Everything moves so slowly in Spain but maybe it's time for politicians to address real problems now rather than pfaff with whatever it is they are pfaffing with.

User avatar
costakid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5754
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2005 11:55 am
Location: malaga este

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby costakid » Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:45 pm

El Cid wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:43 am Re desalination plants, when we first came to Spain in 1995, there had been a 7 year drought and the situation was worse than now. They were bringing water tankers in by sea and planned to build 4 desalination plants in the area. Then in December it rained almost every day until March. Problem solved, desalination plants cancelled.

Like my friend who was a roofer in Spain. When the rains came he was turning people away as so much work, when he caught up with his work he rang his customers and said i can now sort your leak out. Dont need it doing was the reply from most Spanish as its not raining anymore.

Lavanda
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 6191
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:42 pm
Location: Cáceres Province, Extremadura

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby Lavanda » Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:54 pm

Ha! Ha! Costakid. When I told my neighbours in Plaza San Andrés in Coín years ago that I had a leak in my bathroom roof and needed someone to fix it he told me not to bother. He said, 'Do what we do' and I asked what that was. He said, 'Buy a bucket'.

gavilan
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 2163
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2006 11:59 am
Location: Alcaucin

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby gavilan » Wed Jan 19, 2022 1:15 pm

Lavanda wrote: 'The Moors installed an amazing irrigation system in Andalucia. What happened to it?' ... about 10 or so years ago the water in those irrigation systems was guided into large black or orange plastic pipes ... it is difficult to tell where those water channels are now as rocks and earth have completely covered the pipes .. . t'will be a major job to replace those plastic pipes when they degrade ... but not much use having irrigation channels, ancient or modern if demand for water far outstrips supply

Lavanda
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 6191
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:42 pm
Location: Cáceres Province, Extremadura

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby Lavanda » Wed Jan 19, 2022 1:23 pm

"but not much use having irrigation channels, ancient or modern if demand for water far outstrips supply"

Agreed, but at least people will have to pay for the water. The Orellana canal system provides the water — but it is not free. That concentrates the mind of the agriculturalist a bit. If anyone can sink a borehole or well, anywhere at anytime, and extract as much water as they want without a licence or permit, then trouble for the many is bound to follow.

gavilan
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 2163
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2006 11:59 am
Location: Alcaucin

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby gavilan » Wed Jan 19, 2022 2:21 pm

pay for what? ... if there is no water?!

Lavanda
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 6191
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:42 pm
Location: Cáceres Province, Extremadura

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby Lavanda » Wed Jan 19, 2022 2:44 pm

But that's the point. There is water. It just needs to be used sensibly and channelled properly. Tell me, is the Guadalquiver dry? Then look at all the rivers flowing in and out from that main artery.

gavilan
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 2163
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2006 11:59 am
Location: Alcaucin

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby gavilan » Wed Jan 19, 2022 3:02 pm

the Guadalquiver does not run through the Axarquia ...

Lavanda
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 6191
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:42 pm
Location: Cáceres Province, Extremadura

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby Lavanda » Wed Jan 19, 2022 3:11 pm

No but you have the Guadalhorce as an independent river and from the Guadalquivir you have several rivers run down to the south. I take your point; you do not have a river running by your property but I live maybe 30km from the Guadiana yet within 2km there is the canal system. If no one ever plans and only ever resigns themselves to the futility of it all, then I suppose the only option is to move or pave over the garden. You have my sympathies.

gavilan
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 2163
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2006 11:59 am
Location: Alcaucin

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby gavilan » Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:10 pm

the Guadalhorce runs to the west of the Axarquia and Malaga itself ... there is mountain range between this area and such a river ... we have no major rivers here ... which makes it all the more stupid for so many water-hungry avocados and mangos to be planted here ...

User avatar
Wicksey
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5878
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:21 pm
Location: Axarquia coast

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby Wicksey » Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:48 pm

I think Axarquia was mainly a 'dry' region growing olives and almonds due to the lack of major rivers. These are being taken down and replaced by mangoes. You have to pay for the water here but it's not putting them off planting. I don't see new boreholes being dug anywhere around us and haven't seen the boring machine in our area for years. Our water comes from the Competa mountain aquifers I understand and you have to buy an 'accion' of so many thousand litres a week. We do not have our own supply but buy it from our farmer neighbour. There is no domestic or drinking water supply anywhere around here.

I well remember the end of the drought Sid refers to as we came here in the early winter of 1996 to look at land and the place was like a quagmire and the motorway around Malaga had all collapsed. It was like that for a number of years with very heavy rains as we used to live on rainwater collected from the roof as we had no supply. We could never live like that now.

Lavanda
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 6191
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:42 pm
Location: Cáceres Province, Extremadura

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby Lavanda » Wed Jan 19, 2022 8:42 pm

Wow! You need some sort of water supply and a pestilence on the mangoes.

gavilan
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 2163
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2006 11:59 am
Location: Alcaucin

Re: anyone's garden struggling with drought?!

Postby gavilan » Wed Jan 19, 2022 9:04 pm

it's been unusually cold in the nights here recently ... 3 or 4 degrees ... maybe there will be a frost which might damage young avocados and mangos ?!


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests