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Expats in rural Spain endure four weeks without water
| Published: | 1 Sep at 6 PM |
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A small expat community in sunny Spain has been left without water in one of the country’s hottest ever summers.
The dwindling municipal water supply in the Axarquia village of Colmenar has left residents including expats without piped supplies for a month, with no sign of the situation being dealt with by local officials. It’s the second time this year water supplies have been interrupted, and resident are now scared they may be at risk from diseases such as Legionnaires.
No-one’s sure why the water supply isn’t working, with residents forced to stock up on bottled water or spend literally thousands of euros on installing and filling water tanks.
Retired Briton Malcolm Coxall is concerned about the condition of the stagnant water remaining in the pipes for weeks during this year’s exceptionally hot summer temperatures. He told reporters from an English language newspaper that bacteria now forming due to a lack of chlorine would contaminate the water supply once it returns. Businesses in the rural region, are worried the lack of water could affect tourism, a main source of of income in the village and its surrounding countryside. The village itself has only one small hotel, but many tourists stay in one of several hundred houses dotted around the countryside.
According to Coxall, the local town hall hasn’t given out any information about the restoration of water supplies, nor has it explained the reasons behind the failure of the system. Residents, he added, are becoming angry. Colmenar’s mayor agreed to talk with reporters, saying the local authority is working to remedy the situation and adding the water is likely to be back on by mid-September. He mentioned replacing broken pipes and clearing blockages, saying that by September the demand for water will have lessened and underground water sources will be filling up. The total cost of the work, he added, will be around €30,000.
The dwindling municipal water supply in the Axarquia village of Colmenar has left residents including expats without piped supplies for a month, with no sign of the situation being dealt with by local officials. It’s the second time this year water supplies have been interrupted, and resident are now scared they may be at risk from diseases such as Legionnaires.
No-one’s sure why the water supply isn’t working, with residents forced to stock up on bottled water or spend literally thousands of euros on installing and filling water tanks.
Retired Briton Malcolm Coxall is concerned about the condition of the stagnant water remaining in the pipes for weeks during this year’s exceptionally hot summer temperatures. He told reporters from an English language newspaper that bacteria now forming due to a lack of chlorine would contaminate the water supply once it returns. Businesses in the rural region, are worried the lack of water could affect tourism, a main source of of income in the village and its surrounding countryside. The village itself has only one small hotel, but many tourists stay in one of several hundred houses dotted around the countryside.
According to Coxall, the local town hall hasn’t given out any information about the restoration of water supplies, nor has it explained the reasons behind the failure of the system. Residents, he added, are becoming angry. Colmenar’s mayor agreed to talk with reporters, saying the local authority is working to remedy the situation and adding the water is likely to be back on by mid-September. He mentioned replacing broken pipes and clearing blockages, saying that by September the demand for water will have lessened and underground water sources will be filling up. The total cost of the work, he added, will be around €30,000.
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