our journey to Spain

Since climate change is showing remarkable effects in several places in the world, the attention given to natural resources increases day after day. Recently, my husband and I were wondering: what are the resources of water in Costa Tropical? We are quite sensitive about the environment, sustainability, optimization of the resources, and one of the main questions of this time is – again – about water. At least, we think we are trying to do our best to impact positively the planet that we are going to leave to our kids.

In fact, I come from a very dry area of Italy, a place where the lack of rain and the aridity of the ground (except for some underground rivers) have conditioned the agriculture, that is one of the main resources of the local economy. On the other hand, my husband, coming from Finland, has never suffered for water crisis.

So, lately, we both have been thinking about: how 300 days of sunshine a year – as it seems to happen in Costa Tropical – can condition the situation of water supplies! And also, what are the main resources of water of this area?

We decided to investigate the topic.

Mancomunidad de Municipios Costa Tropical de Granada.

Andalusia has natural water deposits of a certain importance and we are focusing now only on those of Costa Tropical, where the organization of water supplies is not depending on the single towns, and not even by the region.

Costa Tropical is organized, in fact, in an association of towns that works tirelessly to ensure, and improve when needed, the quality of the services offered to their citizens: the Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa Tropical. The mancomunidad aims, among the others, to optimize the reserves of water and improve the infrastructures needed to serve the towns. The President of the Mancomunidad of Costa Tropical is now Rafael Caballero Jiménez who took office with a program that envisages firmly carrying forward the progress and development of the Coast.

What is a mancomunidad? In Spain, a mancomunidad is defined as a volunteer association formed by local entities  - it can be towns, at regional or other territorial level - sharing a common goal, aiming to develop common projects, or sharing certain resources. The mancomunidad de municipios is an association of towns trying to optimize common resources - both natural and financial - in order to improve the local services, infrastructures and so on. For instance, one of the important achievements of the Mancomunidad of Costa Tropical was completing the highway A7 between Motril and Almería (finalized in 2015). 

Going back to the question of water, the main goals of the Mancomunidad de municipios de la Costa Tropical is that of optimizing the reserve of water. The quantity of water supplied must be considered for at least three main needs.

First, the daily need of drinkable water and every day use of the towns. Second, ensure the needs for touristic services. Especially on the coastal areas the population can even triple due to the tourism in the region. Third, for sustaining the local agriculture that is the main economical resource of Andalusia.

We are glad to announce that: habemus aquam!

The website of the Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa Tropical explains quite well that two are the main sources of water of the towns of Costa Tropical. The Guadalfeo River, in the Western part of the area supplying water to the towns of Motril, Salobreña, Almuñécar, Itrabo, Molvízar, Jete, Otívar and Lentejí; the Eastern area of the Costa is served by the Trevélez River that provides the water to Albondón, Albuñol, Polopos, Rubite, Sorvilán, Lújar, Gualchos-Castell y Alta Contraviesa. From the Trévelez River a complex system of pipes transports water to the Sierra de la Contraviesa.

The main rivers are supported by smaller rivers, aquifers and springs in some towns where they are still preserved from the salinization.

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The Guadalfeo and Trévelez rivers rise from Sierra Nevada mountains. The flow of water in these rivers depends from the snow melting, therefore, during some months the water flows are higher than others. The peak of the water contained is May June. Without rainfalls these rivers have a certain autonomy.

This is not all. The territories of the West of Costa Tropical count on other two main water basins: the dams of Rules and Béznar – respectively near the villages of Vélez de Benaudalla and Lecrín.

However, as the delegate to Agriculture of the Mancomunidad specified few months ago in front of the Parliament of Andalusia, owning water does not mean using it.

In the map: the dams of Rules and Béznar

What is the situation today and how is Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa Tropical managing it?

During the last months the situation in regard of the Western part of the Costa Tropical has developed at a very fast pace, and in a very positive direction. Last April 2023, the delegate to Agriculture of the Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa Tropical, Rocío Palacios, asked the Parliament of Andalusia to consider supporting the building of infrastructures that allow to utilize the natural resources of water of the region, against the drought that has been threatening the agriculture during the last decades. The delegate “has exposed the concerns of an entire region that requests actions and measures that ensure supply to the population, even in the summer, when its population increases considerably, and establish an order of priority that is considered for agricultural, industrial, tourist and other non-urban uses in economic activities” (click the link to read the original article published on Granada Hoy). Moreover the delegate highlighted that “It is ironic that on the Coast we have two large dams -Béznar and Rules-, but we cannot use that water for irrigation because we do not have the infrastructure. We have been waiting for 18 years for the different governments to decide to implement this necessary infrastructure and vital for the development of the region,” Palacios claimed (Granada Hoy).

A month later (May 2023), the Government of Spain recognized the importance of the request and declared that the starting the works should not suffer further delays. Still in May 2023 a joint meeting of the Board of Andalusia, Government and representatives of the agriculture/farms, approved the permission to start to implement the project concerning Béznar-Rules dams pipelines. As reported by Granada Hoy in the end of last October (2023), the Mancomunidad gave the final financial approval for starting the work.

The final decision.

The 80% of the funding for this infrastructural intervention will come from the Next Generetion EU funds, 10% will be funds of the Board of Andalusia, and another 10% of the costs must be covered by the Mancomunidad.

What is more, another important action had started already several years ago for the improvement of the infrastructures of drinking water supplies, depending on the pipelines ETAP that have a main center in Molvízar . This intervention (some details in Spanish can be found here) will guarantee the increase of the supply of drinking water to about 100.000 inhabitants of the area, and considers also the increase of population typical of the touristic season.

What can we say? Our impression is that the area is improving by creating the infrastructures needed to accomplishing with the goals set in strategic plans of development. We also see that there is a political commitment to cope with the climate challenges that this time is presenting us.

We clearly appreciate this active and constructive attitude.

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