Spain`s reservoirs are in a worse state than last year as the country heads for what some experts are predicting will be the worst drought for 60 years. Reservoir levels are at a 10-year low for June, and the country is entering a summer season in which little rainfall is expected, according to figures from the state news agency EFE.

The drought is spread unevenly across the country, with the Atlantic-facing north still well watered while areas in the south-east have extreme shortages. The worst-hit areas are the basins of the Segura and Júcar rivers in the south-east. Reservoir levels are down to 16% and 21% respectively, according to Spain`s environment ministry.

That means that growth areas for tourism, such as the provinces of Murcia, Almeria, Alicante and Valencia, will be hit hardest. But the Costa del Sol, on the Mediterranean coast, has reported it will not experience serious water problems this year after the region`s major reservoir was filled to overflowing by recent rains.

Last month, the environment ministry ordered €45m (£31m) be spent on anti-drought measures, including improved pumping from underground wells. This is the second year of drought in Spain. Experts have predicted it may last between four and six years. In April, the national meteorological institute warned that the country was heading for its worst drought since 1947.

More than 90% of Spain`s eastern seaboard, from Tarragona in the north to Almeria in the south, is at risk from desertification, according to environment ministry figures published by El País newspaper yesterday.
(By Giles Tremlett, The Guardian, 07/06/2006)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/water/story/0,,1791952,00.html