- EDITIONS:
Spanish News Today
Murcia Today
Alicante Today
PROPERTY SEARCH
ARCHIVED - Seville will have hosepipe ban in autumn for the first time in over 20 years
Restrictions on water usage will come into force on October 3 due to shortages
There will be no cuts in household taps and private companies will not have to limit their water usage, but Seville – the capital city of Andalusia – will once again have water restrictions in autumn for the first time since 2000 due to severe water shortages.
This means that, as of October 3 when the restrictions are due to come into effect, residents of Seville city cannot fill up their swimming pools or water public and private gardens.
The decision has been made by Seville City Council, after Emasesa, the public company in charge of the water supply, said at the height of the summer – the hottest on record – that there would be hosepipe bans if it did not rain.
Some rain has fallen in the last few days in Seville, around 3.4 litres per square metre, but apart from that and a brief shower in mid-August, it has barely rained in the area since the first week of May.
The recent rains have not been nearly enough to fill the reservoirs that supply 1.3 million people in Seville and its metropolitan area. The reservoirs controlled by Emasesa are at 42% of their capacity, currently holding 269.44 cubic hectometres. The drought alert threshold is at 268 cubic hectometres and it is expected that this level will be exceeded on October 3 this year.
At that time, Seville City Council and the rest of the municipalities that are supplied by Emasesa will publish a notice declaring a drought alert.
In addition to the recommendations for the responsible use of water, the prohibitions on the use of drinking water range from the use of gardens, green areas and sports facilities for private public use to the washing down of streets and pavements.
It will be forbidden to fill swimming pools, as well as ponds and fountains that do not have a water recovery system. You will not be allowed to clean vehicles with a hosepipe, except in companies authorised to do so, and fountains that do not have an automatic shut-off system will be turned off.
There may be fines for anyone who doesn’t comply with this regulation.
Thirty years of trying to reduce water consumption
While Emasesa assures that technically there is enough water to supply the city’s population for two years, they have gradually been reducing the amount of water consumed per person over the years.
In 1992, each person in Seville consumed 178 litres per day. Last August it was 112.5 litres. And the target set a few weeks ago by the local mayor, Antonio Muñoz, is to reach 90 litres per person per day, although Emasesa is aware that this may be difficult to achieve.
The measures that will come into force on October 3 will help to reach this goal; since the declaration of the state of pre-alert in March, water usage in Seville has been reduced by 3% and the aim now is to reach 5%.
Image: Archive
staff.inc.and
Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox
Special offer: Subscribe now for 25% off (36.95 euros for 48 Bulletins)
OR
you can sign up to our FREE weekly roundup!
Read some of our recent bulletins:
Discount Special Offer subscription:
36.95€ for 48 Editor’s Weekly News Roundup bulletins!
Please CLICK THE BUTTON to subscribe.
(List price 3 months 12 Bulletins)
Read more stories from around Spain:
