Michael Douglas banned from filling his Mallorca swimming pool

Valldemossa pulls the plug on filling swimming pools and watering lawns

Michael Douglas can't fill his swimming pool in Mallorca. | Majorca Daily Bulletin reporter

Humphrey CarterPalma06/02/2024 11:04

The lack of rainfall in recent months is not only affecting the countryside.
Concern is spreading in certain municipalities of the Serra de Tramuntana and Migjorn where the lack of rainfall could lead to water shortages in aquifers and springs.

The Valldemossa Town Council has already activated its contingency plan, and through on its social networks has posted a poster alerting the population that the lack of rainfall makes it necessary to be careful with the use of water, so they are asking local residents to make a “responsible and sustainable approach”.

Among the measures issued, it states water from the network can only be used for domestic purposes and it is forbidden to fill swimming pools or water lawns, as well as similar uses such as washing cars.

The decision will hit Michael Douglas who has owned an estate in Valldemossa for the best part of 30 years has a lovely swimming pool.

This is not the first time the Valldemossa Town Council has taken this decision as a measure to reserve the water resources available to the municipality; eight years ago it applied a similar measure.
The difference lies in the fact that in 2016 the measure was taken in June, and this year it has been taken at the beginning of February.

The mayor of the town, Nadal Torres, said yesterday that last year there was precipitation with snow, which “saved the summer”, while this year “the situation is different”.

Torres stresses that “they have never had to set restrictions or water cuts” so they are working on prevention to “avoid this type of situation”, he says, and ‘punish’ large consumers with a higher price in the water bill.

But Valldemossa is not the only municipality in the Serra de Tramuntana that looks is worried.
The mayor of Estellencs, Bernat Isern, also said yesterday that the situation could be of great concern if the rainfall continues to fall.

“We are not ruling out that in a few weeks’ time we will have to take more restrictive measures like those taken last year,“ he said.

Although the water resources in the municipality are assured for the moment, the concern comes in Estellencs when the tourist season begins, as the town triples its population.

“We must be prepared and the source with which the municipality is supplied is becoming scarce,” said the mayor, Bernat Isern.

Estellencs consumes about 160,000 litres of water every day and the mayor does not rule out having to limit the number of litres per inhabitant if measures are not taken and there is a general awareness of the population.