James Warren
A REVOLUTIONARY scheme to give a much needed water lifeline to Andalucian mango farmers has been deemed a success by the group in charge of the operation.
A conglomerate of Axarquian companies and organisations evaluated the scheme developed in 2012 to use reclaimed waste water to use for crop irrigation.
For decades, the region has been at the mercy of seasonal rainfall, and with this years hydrological year about to begin, the scheme has added much needed irrigation to balance out the current drought conditions.
The project took place at the Waste Water Treatment Plant in Rincon de la Victoria and was a joint effort between Axaragua and the Association for the production of Sub-Tropicals (TROPS).
The scheme also took input from the hydrogeology department of the University of Almeria.
Results showed that waste water processed through the plant could be safely used to irrigate the regions crops.
After periodic analysis of the crops, soil samples and the quality of the fruit over the past 8 years, researchers have now deemed that the process will be a viable back up during drought conditions.
It is estimated that in total, around 15 cubic hectometres could be added to the yearly allocation.
Currently the reservoir at La Vinuela sits at below 30% capacity at just 49.80 cubic hectometres, despite rainfall in April lifting recent restrictions on water usage.
This was also helped by the COVID-19 outbreak, which led to water usage in hospitality and industry sectors being drastically reduced.
