The mayor of Deya, Joan Ripoll has announced that the drinking water supply to a large part of the municipality will be cut off three days a week. Although the council already imposed severe restrictions at the beginning of the summer and, as it does every year, transports water daily from Palma to guarantee supply, the available resources are no longer sufficient, so it has had to take a further step and cut off supply to the northern part of the town on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the drought situation improves.
The measure affects one of the most important residential and tourist areas of the municipality, including La Cala, Llucalcari, various neighbourhoods such as S’Empeltada and Ses Coves, and properties in the direction of Soller, where there are many isolated houses, chalets and the Costa d’Or and La Residencia hotels.
According to the mayor, the current weekly consumption for the entire municipality is 3,300 cubic metres (471 cubic metres per day), of which almost 37% is supplied by tanker trucks. However, he points out that only ‘one of the sectors affected by the cut, Llucalcari, consumes 200 cubic metres per day, which is what led to this decision’.
This is not the first time that the council has introduced temporary water cuts during the summer.
Joan Ripoll said that, apart from these cuts on alternate days, ‘restricted use for domestic consumption remains in force, and watering, filling swimming pools and other non-essential uses are still prohibited’.
According to the mayor, the residents and establishments affected ‘were given sufficient notice and it must be said that they understand the situation’. Ripoll points out that ‘Deya only has one well and the Molí spring, so every year it has to supplement its resources by transporting water, but now this is no longer enough for everyone’.
For years the council has called for a solution to the water shortage suffered by Deya in summer due to the increase in population, and Ripoll regrets that the municipality cannot be connected to the Sa Costera reservoir in Soller. Many homes and businesses in Deya also purchase water from other municipalities.