Yesterday marked the first time for a decade that it became necessary to dump water from the reservoirs in Málaga province, with seven dams simultaneously opening the floodgates.
Ten hectometres of water, equivalent to one month’s consumption in the province, has been dumped into the rivers in order to prevent the reservoirs from overflowing in the face of continued heavy rains.
La Viñuela was one of those to open the floodgates, although this was more of a token gesture with just five cubic metres per second being released.
The reservoirs, at their highest levels for a long time, now contain enough water to last for three years. Although not at full capacity, the decision was taken to release water as a precautionary measure.