drought

[Fearon]

How has the drought affected the local area, particulary in terms of agriculture? Do you think that this drought could mark the beginning of teh end for alpujarran agriculture?

[admin]

Fearon

The Alpujarras are irrigated using ground water absorbed by the mountains during the Winter months from rain and snow. This year therefore the drought probably won't have a major impact, but the impact may come next year if the level of the water table fails to recover over the Winter period. However the Alpujarra has been an agricultural region for centuries and the locals are more than able to cope with a lack of rain !

Dave

[Guest]

Similarly, the fact that the last twenty years have seen a significant drop in the amount of farming locally and that the local populations have declined substantially plus the fact that most of the remaining farmers now use highly economical drip feed irrigation, means that the demand on water is aprreciably less than in the past.

That said God only knows what the demands of the invernaderos and the golf courses on the coast mean to the water supply. But then again I suppose that's why we have all those dams are being built.