There is no rain, and none is forecast
for the rest of this hydrological year which ends in September. The
situation in the province has become alarming with three of the five districts
already in severe drought. There was virtually no rainfall in May, which was
the driest on record. Accumulated rainfall so far this year in the area stands
at approximately 500 litres/m2, way below last year and the 731.7 litre average
for 1971-2000. Reservoirs contain 15% less water than a year ago, and they were
only at 60% of capacity then. Vineyard irrigation is not permitted.
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| One of the reservoirs |
The Jerez area grows many other crops
other than grapes, including sunflowers, cotton, beetroot and cereals, all of which
have seen worrying drops in yield – cereals for example are down 35%, and there
is barely enough water or pasture for livestock. Once drought is officially
declared various forms of aid can be claimed from the EU or from agricultural insurance
but their terms are tough. Naturally the vineyards will be affected too, but as
vines have much deeper roots and grow on albariza which absorbs huge amounts of
water, the effects will be less severe, and while yields will certainly be down,
especially with a hot summer predicted, there will be a reduced risk of cryptogamic
problems like mildew.
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