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Date Published: 04/07/2024

Costa Blanca holiday hub issues swimming pool ban

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Altea has become the first town in Alicante to implement water restrictions

Costa Blanca holiday hub issues swimming pool ban

As early as April, the authorities in Alicante were warning that water restrictions were a real possibility this summer if the province didn’t urgently see some heavy rain, and these gloomy predictions have just come to fruition in Altea, which is the first municipality to implement a swimming pool ban.

Although emergency plans have been in place for months to alleviate the dire situation of the two reservoirs in the area, Altea’s mayor still surprised most residents by issuing an emergency order on Wednesday afternoon, July 3. Effective immediately, the “exceptional measures” will impact the areas of La Malla (Altea Hills), Mascarat, Alhama Candela and Sierra Altea II, where “the use of water from the home supply network is prohibited.”

In these towns and surrounds, the following drought crisis measures have been put in place:

Irrigation of gardens, orchards, terraces, green and sports areas, whether private or public, is prohibited.
No filling of private or public swimming pools, ponds or fountains.
Cleaning and sweeping of roads, streets, paths and pavements, whether public or private, is prohibited.

With little rain on the horizon, Alicante province is tipped to be one of the driest regions in Spain this summer. Today, the Amadorio reservoir contains just 2.2 cubic hectometres (14% of its capacity) of water, and the Guadalest sits at 23% with only 3.4 cubic hectometres.

Despite this, the Mayor’s Office in Altea has guaranteed a full supply of drinking water for residents and businesses throughout the summer months and the rest of the year, although this largely depends on a wet autumn.

Regarding the rest of the Marina Baixa, which includes the tourism hotspot of Benidorm, the president of the CHJ, Miguel Polo assured that urban water supply is a “priority” for the Confederation and that restrictions are only being considered for irrigation.

“We are aware that there are supply problems in some municipalities, but these are more structural problems, obviously aggravated by the drought. However, in most of the territory there will be no problems, but it is advisable to save as much as possible,” he added.

In the neighbouring province of Murcia, there have also been calls for similar water restrictions to be placed on the filling of private swimming pools this summer, but so far the authorities have not indicated that they will implement any such measures.

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

Image: El fosilmaniaco via Wikimedia Commons

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