La Concepción Reservoir Levels Drop After Dry Spring and Intense Summer Heat Water reserves at western Costa del Sol’s primary reservoir have dipped, prompting regional authorities to review supply strategies for the coming autumn. Water managers across the western Costa del Sol are keeping a close watch on the sky as autumn gets underway. The La Concepción reservoir in Istán, which supplies tap water to hundreds of thousands of residents from Marbella down to Mijas and Estepona, has seen its stored reserves recede noticeably following an exceptionally dry spring and high evaporation rates during late summer. Evaporation and Consumption Strain Storage While winter storms previously replenished mountain catchment basins across the Sierra de las Nieves, the extended heatwaves recorded through late August and September rapidly depleted surface storage. Water management officials noted that municipal consumption throughout the high tourist season broke previous peak records, compounding natural seasonal decline. Despite the downward curve, public supply to residential taps remains fully guaranteed without domestic pressure cuts. However, hydrologists point out that the volume drop underscores the continuous vulnerability of the coast's single largest surface reservoir during dry seasonal transitions. Desalination Plants Running at Maximum Output To buffer the reservoir against further losses, regional utility authorities have kept the coastal desalination plant in Marbella operating around the clock. The facility, which underwent capacity improvements over the last two years, is currently feeding steady desalinated drinking water into the western grid, reducing raw water extractions from the Istán basin by several thousand cubic metres every day. In addition, water transfers from smaller secondary river intakes are being managed dynamically to ensure municipal storage tanks in Fuengirola and Benalmádena do not drain western supplies prematurely. Town halls across the district have reiterated that park watering and street-cleaning protocols remain strictly tied to reclaimed non-potable water systems. Advice for Residents and Urbanisations Private property owners and community administrators are urged to inspect irrigation timing and pool refill mechanisms. Most coastal town halls continue to limit private garden watering to off-peak night hours to minimise evaporation losses. Water authorities have indicated that if significant autumn rain does not arrive by late November, regional water committees will meet to assess whether standard precautionary conservation ordinances should be reinforced.