Heavy snow in the Tramuntana Mountains is good news for water resources. As the snow melts, it helps to increase the capacities of the two reservoirs. Palma's municipal services agency Emaya, which operates the reservoirs, is looking forward to the water levels rising, but a lack of rainfall prior to the current cold spell has meant that the capacities are well down. Even the melting snow will make only a small amount of difference, relatively speaking.
At present, Emaya reports, the two reservoirs - Cúber and Gorg Blau - have a combined capacity of 46.2%. A year ago this was 80%. Of the two, Cúber has the higher percentage. This is 50.5%; it has risen by 34 centimetres since January 16, when it was at 47.4% capacity. Gorg Blau has risen by 28 centimetres over the past ten days.
The president of Emaya, Palma councillor Ramón Perpinyà, says that "despite the slight rise in the reservoirs, Palma and all of Mallorca are in a pre-alert situation for drought". Recent precipitation, he notes, has not been very intense. Apart from the reservoirs, he adds that aquifers have not fully recovered and that springs are providing only limited amounts of water.