According to the latest report on the State of Spain's Reservoirs by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, updated as of August 30, Spain's water reserve is at 35.9% of its total capacity. The reservoirs currently store 20,174 hm³ of water, after having decreased in the last week by 528 hm³ (0.9% of the current total capacity of the reservoirs); a very distant figure from the 30,425 hm³ average of the last decade.
The levels of the main river basins with respect to their total capacity are as follows: the Guadalquivir is at 22%; the Guadiana at 24.5%; the Tajo at 37.7%; the Duero at 37.8%; and the Ebro at 43.3%.
The volume of water in the Guadalquivir basin was 1,783 hm³, i.e., less than half the 4,235 hm³ average of the last decade.
Many areas in this basin require special attention; for example, La Viñuela is undergoing an emergency situation; Cuevas de Almanzora has serious shortages, and Campo de Gibraltar is very close to declaring an emergency.
This week, the Andalusian Executive has demanded the central government make strong investments in the region, as the Ministry for the Ecological Transition manages the Guadalquivir basin that covers 67% of the Andalusian territory, while the Board is in charge of intra-community ones.
In the case of Guadiana, the lack of rainfall has reduced the levels of reservoir water to 2,329 hm³, with a cumulative total of about 53% less than the average of the last ten years, located at 4,936 hm³.
On the other hand, the situation of the large basins of the northern half is not extreme. They have had water losses compared to the average of the last ten years, which, despite not being as dramatic as in the south, range from 23% of the Tagus to 35% of the Douro, and on the Mediterranean side, the Ebro contains 26% less water than the average of the past decade.
Only two basins, according to Miteco data, exceed the average: the internal ones of the Basque Country, which are at 81% of their total capacity, with 17 hm³, compared to 16 on average, and the Júcar, which is at 57.3%, fed by the heavy rains of the last weeks on the Mediterranean side, and contains 1,630 hm³, compared to 1,233 hm³ average in the past decade.
Source: efeagro.com