STORM-FUELLED reservoirs have swelled to nearly double their usual size in Malaga – in a rare silver lining after weeks of relentless stormy weather across Andalucia.
Reservoirs across the province were holding nearly 520 trillion litres of water as of Wednesday morning, according to Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture – roughly 180% of their 10-year average for this week.
The surge follows years of critically low reserves, which led to successive droughts in 2023 and 2024.
Across Malaga province, reservoirs are now 84% full – a 40% jump compared to the average over the past decade.
The Conde Guadalhorce reservoir reached 100% capacity last week, with Guadalhorce-Guadalteba close behind at 94%.
Both supply large areas of Malaga province – including Antequera, Campillos, and Teba – and sit more than 50% above their 10-year average.
La Concepcion, which serves Estepona, Marbella, and the western Costa del Sol, is at 73%, up 10% on its decade-long average.
La Viñuela stands at 72%, while El Limonero and Casasola trail at 64% and 55%, respectively.
Water reserves across Andalucia show similar trends, with region-wide capacity at 77% – a 35% leap over the 10-year average of 42%.
Other provinces are hitting similar highs: Huelva and Sevilla are over 90% full, while Cadiz trails at 85%.
In Huelva and Sevilla, six and four reservoirs respectively have hit full capacity.
Cadiz counts three at 100%, with two more hovering near 95%.
The surge is a dramatic turnaround from recent years. Reserves ran low in 2024 after plunging to a perilous 20% in 2023, sparking fears of the worst drought in decades.
Communities across Andalucia faced water restrictions and drained reservoirs, with Malaga hit the hardest as more than 20 towns endured nighttime water cuts.
The recent rise offers hope for a smoother summer, with experts saying current reserves could last months.
It comes just days after twin storms Leonardo and Marta tore through Andalucia, triggering red alerts, road closures, suspended trains, and more than 11,000 evacuations as rivers swelled and bridges buckled.
Leonardo’s deluge dumped up to 400mm of rain in spots, leaving power outages and stranded towns in its wake.
Rivers like the Guadalquivir and Genil were pushed toward breaking points, prompting emergency crews to pull families from rising waters.
Just as communities caught a brief reprieve, Storm Marta barreled in, hammering the region and keeping flood risk sky-high.
Marta’s monster rain knocked out roads, cut off entire districts, and left emergency services scrambling.
Farmers are now calling the crop damage ‘catastrophic’, with floodwaters drowning citrus groves, tearing greenhouses apart, and threatening harvests across the countryside.
Estimates put the financial toll from the twin storms at roughly €4 billion.
While replenished reservoirs are a welcome upside to the devastation, Andalucia also faces new challenges.
When reservoirs exceed capacity and spill over, huge volumes of water can crash through spillways and river channels, turning tranquil valleys into raging torrents.
With more than 15 reservoirs at full capacity across the region, engineers warn that excess water must be released early, or downstream floods could swamp towns and farmland at terrifying speed.
The Montejaque dam, west of Ronda, is precariously full to the brim – and a controlled overspill is expected to take place as more Atlantic storms roll in throughout February and March.
The runoff would see water rushing down the Guadiaro river, threatening homes as far south as Cortes de la Frontera.
Precautionary evacuations have already taken place in Estacion de Benajoan and Estacion de Jimera as authorities continue to closely monitor the situation.
Click here to read more Weather News from The Olive Press.
