The drought-hit Spanish region of Andalusia has ruled out chartering tankers to bring in water.
The Sur website reported the local government as saying recent Easter rains had “alleviated” the supply situation in the province.
A plan had been drawn up to use tankers to import water into Malaga and potentially other ports.
The move was seen as a last resort, involving vessels of up to 140 metres in length capable of carrying 40,000 cbm of water.
However, with product tanker markets tight, due to longer routes being taken to avoid the Red Sea, finding vessels could have been difficult and expensive.
The idea was to load ships with desalinated water from the Escombreras plant in the Murcian port city of Cartagena.
Andalusian president Juanma Moreno confirmed the decision to rule out the plan after analysing the effects rainfall had had on the region’s dams.
“We are in a position to affirm that it will no longer be necessary to bring ships loaded with water from Murcia,” he said.
Pipelines had already been prepared to load water, earlier reports had indicated. Valencia had also been considered as a load port.
Reservoirs add volumes
Moreno told reporters “the difficult situation” had eased.
He noted reservoirs around Malaga had swollen by 30 cubic hectometres in the past few days.
However, they remain far from their full capacity.
“La Vinuela has gained 60% of its reservoir water, but it is still only at 15% of its capacity,” Moreno said.
The president reiterated the need for “responsible” water use and management.
He also pledged to maintain investments in infrastructure.
