Sotogrande’s Water Wealth: A Historical and Environmental Perspective

When Sotogrande was bought by Colonel Joseph McMicking in 1962 the access to water was a major plus for the American developer. He insisted that any land he would buy in Spain must have good access to water. Hence he bought the 1.800 hectares ( 4,447 acres) of what is today, Sotogrande.

Sotogrande benefits from having the river “ Guadiaro” run through it to the sea and adjacent to the Marina and Port. The river is fed from the very prolific lakes in “ Grazalema “. It should be noted that “Grazalema “has the highest rainfall count in Spain and is only a one and a half hour drive from sotogrande!

Sotogrande also has a large sub aquifer, were water is  collected, as well as numerous lakes to hold and retain the rainfall . Our surrounding countryside also uniquely benefits from extra dew created by the Rock of Gibraltar. The Rock has large cloud formations forming over it, that in turn give more natural humidity to the countryside. When you next look at Gibraltar you might notice a cloud hanging over rock! It looks often like a bullfighter,s hat! The locals refer to it as “ La Montura del Torero.”

Sotogrande is indeed rich with water and in the past, when there had been water restrictions on the coast ( for example 1995), she  never suffered a water shortage!

Times have changed and we note that the rainfall count in Andalusia is less!  This combined with more buildings, more irrigated farms ( the worst offenders) and golf courses has naturally but a strain on the availability of water.

Fortunately, Sotogrande has prepared for this and it’s golf courses have numerous lakes and water is re filtered and reused. Developers have encouraged more shower rooms as opposed to bathrooms. The community has and needs to remind residents to be careful and not fall into the habit of over watering their gardens. Indeed too much water will damage a Mediterranean garden!

Therefore, we must all be careful not to waste water and consider ourselves lucky that we live in such a verdant and water rich resort!