Date Published: 15/04/2024

Alicante faces swimming pool ban this summer if drought conditions worsen

Alicante is enduring the worst drought in more than three decades with very little rain in sight

With the worst drought of the past 33 years dragging on, Alicante is following the example of other Spanish regions like Andalucía and threatening an all-out ban on filling swimming pools if the situation doesn’t improve before the summer.

The latest data show that Alicante’s reservoirs have only been topped up with 65.1mm of water since October, a staggeringly low figure and the second lowest in the entire Júcar basin, which feeds some of the major tourist towns like Elche and Benidorm.

And sadly, things are far from improving.

The prediction of the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ) is that "the indicators of prolonged drought and scarcity will evolve towards a situation of greater water stress and, therefore, towards a worsening in the short term or during the development of the summer irrigation campaign."

Because of this, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition is about to declare a water emergency in the Marina Alta, Marina Baja, Elche and Alicante, which will force all impacted towns and cities to implement strategies to save water.

At the request of the CHJ, the Alicante City Council and Aguas de Alicante have already established a Drought Emergency Plan with increasingly restrictive measures.

With the first level, pre-alert, Aguas de Alicante has already begun to reduce the pressure of the taps at dawn and launch awareness campaigns to save water. But this Drought Emergency Plan entails increasingly tougher measures as the stages progress, which Alicante is fast approaching.

When this happens, non-essential water use will be restricted, which includes a ban on filling swimming pools. The water pressure in taps will also be reduced even further and the authorities will have to tap into other sources for irrigation like underground wells.

All in all, this summer, the increase in Alicante's population due to the influx of numerous tourists, visitors and second homeowners is expected to pose a significant challenge given the current drought conditions.

Find all the latest weather and climate change news here or join our Alicante Weather Watch Facebook group for regular updates

Image: Freepik

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