Mayor Joaquín Villanova announces that next week the supply from provincial reservoirs will begin, following a €10 million investment by the Junta. The measure aims to alleviate the overexploitation of the Sierra de Mijas aquifer.
The municipality of Alhaurín de la Torre will take a historic step in managing its water supply. Starting next week, it is expected to begin receiving water from the province's reservoirs, a connection that has never occurred before. This was announced by the mayor, Joaquín Villanova, who detailed that the commissioning of new high-supply improvement facilities, executed by the Junta de Andalucía with an investment of over €10 million, will make this change possible.
Villanova made this announcement in the context of an alert regarding the situation of the Sierra de Mijas aquifer, which supplies Alhaurín de la Torre along with other municipalities on the Costa del Sol and the Guadalhorce region. The mayor warned that, despite the winter rains, they have not been sufficient to recharge the aquifer after eight years of severe prolonged drought. “Although it rained a lot during the winter, it was not enough to recharge the aquifer,” he stated.
The mayor has advocated for a water management model that prioritises the use of water from reservoirs, considering it a more “sustainable” and “controllable” system than groundwater, whose levels are difficult to measure and calculate. In this regard, he recalled that this summer several well systems in the municipality broke down, the last being privately owned, managed by the community of the Los Manantiales urbanisation. This breakdown forced the City Council to make an emergency supply for several days.
“The wells are working 24 hours a day,” Villanova warned, emphasising that this situation significantly increases the risk of motor breakdowns. The mayor and the Municipal Water Service, led by councillor Abel Perea, have intensified efforts so that in a few days water from the reservoirs can start being supplied to homes through the Municipal Water Company of Málaga (EMASA).
The pipeline executed by the Junta also includes the construction of large capacity cisterns in the industrial estate and in the Los Tomillares area. “We need this supply to not depend 100% on the water from the Sierra aquifer,” the mayor insisted. He also stressed the need to invest in recycled and regenerated water for agricultural use, garden irrigation, and golf courses.
Villanova highlighted the importance of establishing a community or users' association that groups all municipalities in the region and conducts “coordinated” work regarding water use. Finally, he recalled that there are municipalities in the province where prohibitions and restrictions have been reintroduced this summer, and he thanked the “great work” of the workers and technicians of the Municipal Water Service, which has ensured the supply in Alhaurín de la Torre throughout these years, despite long periods of drought.
The connection to the reservoirs represents relief for a municipality that has relied almost exclusively on the now overexploited aquifer. With the new infrastructure, the residents of Alhaurín de la Torre will see their supply reinforced, especially in the months of highest demand. The City Council hopes that this measure, along with citizen awareness, will allow them to face the future with greater guarantees.
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