Urgent measures being drawn up to combat threat of drought across Andalucia

THE Junta is drawing up urgent measures to combat the threat of impending drought across Andalucia.

It comes after four years of low rainfall left the region’s reservoirs at around a third of capacity, some 13% below levels last year.

New water plans include installing a pipeline from the Iznajar reservoir in Cordoba to the Antequera area, which was supposed to have been built two years ago.

A new dam on the Rio Verde will nearly triple the size of Marbella’s La Concepcion reservoir.

Another project could see a pipeline running along the Costa del Sol to the Axarquia region allowing water to flow from the wetter western region to the drier east of Malaga.

In total, 115 measures are being introduced to help save water.

If officially declared in January, as expected, the drought decree will be the third in a decade, the first two being in 2005 and 2008.