Hundreds of residents and workers in a holiday hotspot much beloved by British tourists have voiced their anger at what is being seen as an unfair new ban.
Malaga, a city and province part of the Andalusia region in southern Spain, is one of the areas currently being plagued by a long-lasting drought.
The severe lack of rainfall has brought local administrations around Spain to introduce increasingly stringent anti-drought measures, including a ban on washing cars and streets, watering gardens and using public showers or filling up fountains.
The regulation also prohibits refilling private and communal pools but, despite the dismay of locals, does not affect hotels.
As a result of the latest round of anti-drought legislation, more than 80 companies and around 300 individuals signed a public letter calling for an equitable distribution of water resources bearing in mind also the needs of locals and small businesses.
Andrés Marín, the spokesperson of this angered group, warned several jobs are on the line as a result of these regulations, and local business owners fear their companies may “go to ruin”.
The letter, as reported by local news outlet Malaga Hoy, read: “The paradox of water: tourists cool off in swimming pools, while locals see their gardens wither.”
The group, which includes people from the gardening, swimming pools, nurseries, lifeguards and tourist apartments sectors, noted these new anti-draught rules could have a negative impact even on tourism, a key sector for the area.
People staying in tourism rentals in urban areas may choose to go spend their holiday elsewhere if they realise the local pool is not available, it is noted.
Citing the owner of a gardening company in Benalmádena, a Costa del Sol town, the news outlet wrote: “We are already having conversations with neighbours about the fact that there are people who are cancelling their vacations.”
One of the hardest-hit sectors currently is the lifeguard one, with many not knowing if they will have a job this season with the fate of pools being uncertain.
Amid fears of job losses, Mr Marín said: “We have to mobilise, make a lot of noise and get people to see that there really is a very big problem because it affects the individual, the worker and their entire family.”
The letter hasn’t gone unnoticed, with Benalmádena Mayor Juan Antonio Lara meeting with representatives of this group and stating “his concern about the difficult situation”.
