Water shortages

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Wicksey
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Water shortages

Postby Wicksey » Sat Apr 16, 2016 9:12 am

I read this today on our local emailed newsletter:

Water Restrictions in Competa

JOSE LUIS TORRES GUTIERREZ, Mayor of Cómpeta, under the authority stated in the law 7/1985, the 2ndof April, letter e9, 1 of article 21, regulating the bases of local government,
Dictates the following:

The town hall of Cómpeta informs everyone that because of the recent lack of water, due to insufficient rain, the Town Hall bans-

-Watering of land, gardens, trees, streets, terraces,…

-Use of water for swimming pools, fountains,…

-Washing of vehicles and other objects.

This means there is only one way water can be used - for human consumption.

Thank you everyone for your help and understanding,

José Luis Torres Gutierrez (Alcalde de Cómpeta)


Thankfully I am neither in Competa or on town water, but I do wonder how the agricultural water supply will cope with the increasing numbers of mangoes being planted. There is a constant whine of chainsaw around us as olives are being felled and replaced by mangoes. Our own are blighted by a beetle each year that turns up when it flowers and eats them all :thumbdown:

ajtg1952
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Re: Water shortages

Postby ajtg1952 » Sat Apr 16, 2016 11:47 am

We haven't had a ban yet but I am sure there will be one very soon.

El Cid
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Re: Water shortages

Postby El Cid » Sat Apr 16, 2016 12:33 pm

I assume this only applies to town water, not to agricultural supplies.

Sid

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Wicksey
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Re: Water shortages

Postby Wicksey » Sat Apr 16, 2016 12:57 pm

I am presuming so, Sid, as strictly speaking, the agricultural supply is only supposed of be for irrigation of crops and not 'human consumption' (it isn't treated for drinking anyway - ours comes from bore holes in the mountains behind Competa I understand). Town water would come from the reservoirs so I imagine there's a finite amount that relies on rain replenishing them.

We have greenhouses near us full of tomatoes which I am sure are irrigated every day, and I would guess that crops would be lost if the agricultural water supply was restricted (more so than the two or three days per week it is on at the moment I mean).

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Re: Water shortages

Postby gavilan » Sat Apr 16, 2016 4:44 pm

This is our third consecutive dry winter here (Axarquia Alta) .... all water from the stream is being diverted into irrigation channels ... even so, the planting of young and thirsty avocado trees continues apace ... and I have heard that sea/salt water is now encroaching acquifers and wells around Velez Malaga ... it looks like being a hard summer ...

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Wicksey
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Re: Water shortages

Postby Wicksey » Sun Apr 17, 2016 1:52 pm

It's mangoes around us, Gavilan, 100s of 1000s of the things. The trouble is it was seco land before with olives and now is very much irrigated land. Goodness knows how much water they'll need over the coming years.

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Re: Water shortages

Postby olive » Sun Apr 17, 2016 2:21 pm

Do you think the Competa water shortage is due to irrigation using town water somehow perhaps before treatment?

I wonder if all the planting going on is funded by grants, perhaps EU?

Lyric
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Re: Water shortages

Postby Lyric » Sun Apr 17, 2016 2:33 pm

Well are you topped Mrs W ? it is on at the moment.

gavilan
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Re: Water shortages

Postby gavilan » Sun Apr 17, 2016 3:30 pm

Mangos in some areas ... avocados in others ... seems to me to be over-planting wherever they are ... unsustainable ... and reminds me of that building boom in the early 2000s ... which too was unsustainable ...

TorreDelAguila
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Re: Water shortages

Postby TorreDelAguila » Sun Apr 17, 2016 6:08 pm

Just to the north of Algarrobo, a pair of large-bore (25cm!) thick-wall poly pipes was installed to take water from the valley stream - the water flows down from Competa - and pump it up a pair of hillsides to massive newly-built concrete reservoirs. The building work took more than two years.

The valley stream carries only tiny amounts of water these days, except for a day or two after a sustained cloudburst. Most of the available mountain water has already been extracted (eg for Competa and the local water companies), and this is only likely to increase.

Does look as if things really aren't thought through, except by the contractors, that is!

Modern greenhouses are probably fairly frugal with water compared to irrigating open hillsides, which drain in an instant. Whatever happened to hydroponics - hugely economic on water?
Chris

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fincalospinos
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Re: Water shortages

Postby fincalospinos » Sun Apr 17, 2016 6:42 pm

Another problem is automatic garden irrigation systems in holiday homes, with leaks often being unchecked. Swimming pools ,and hour long showers by holiday guests.
Hardworking resident !!

jukim
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Re: Water shortages

Postby jukim » Sun Apr 17, 2016 9:08 pm

I'm with fincalospinos :(

El Cid
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Re: Water shortages

Postby El Cid » Sun Apr 17, 2016 9:19 pm

TorreDelAguila wrote:

Does look as if things really aren't thought through, except by the contractors, that is!
You can say that again. The Rules Dam south of Granada was built at enormous cost. It is now full of millions of tonnes of water. They never got round to installing the pipes to make it available for the agricultural supply to the Costa Tropical.

You really couldn't make it up if you tried.

Sid

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Wicksey
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Re: Water shortages

Postby Wicksey » Mon Apr 18, 2016 10:43 am

Lyric wrote:Well are you topped Mrs W ? it is on at the moment.
I am topped up thank you, although there was a broken pipe the other day so I don't know how much that has lost :thumbdown: .
fincalospinos wrote:Another problem is automatic garden irrigation systems in holiday homes, with leaks often being unchecked. Swimming pools ,and hour long showers by holiday guests.
We recycle the pool water (about 12m3) during the winter onto the garden when it needs irrigating then refill the pool in May ready for the summer. We waste very little water, having lived in a house without any water supply for a number of years. We had to use rainwater and when we ran out of that, had water deliveries which were very expensive. Just as well we are not relying on rainwater anymore as it's been so dry this last winter. The pool is just about empty now when usually it lasts well into May, as we've had to irrigate throughout the winter.

Many years ago a friend with his own well used to irrigate his small patch of grass all night long in the summer. His wife used to have the washing machine on several times a day, sometimes with only one item in it and washing all their towels daily. Then they used to wonder why the well had run dry :crazy:

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Re: Water shortages

Postby JuliaStein » Wed May 11, 2016 3:31 pm

Living in Cadiz I suffered from gas shortages because of my greedy landlord


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