Spanish mayor goes on hunger strike after town's water supply dries up

The mayor of Valle de Abdalajís, Victor Castillo, went on a hunger strike after the town's water supply dried up for the 8th year in a row.

Castillo is furious that damage to the town's aquifers by the train company, Adif, has not not been repaired and overcome.

The water supply was damaged in 2005 when the construction of a tunnel for the AVE train from Cordoba to Malaga hit the town’s main aquifer.  But while Adif agreed to promised to repair the damage and compensate the town, some clauses have been ignored.

Castillo's protest only lasted one day, however, after the infrastructure group stepped in promising to at least pay to have water brought to the town through the summer months. 

Every year since the damage was done, the small town of  2,800 people has to pay hundreds of thousands of euros to bring water in by truck.  In 2012 alone, it cost €380,000 to bring in enough potable water for the residents.

“We are a small town and our reserves simply cannot support these costs,” insisted the mayor.

“This year, I was not prepared to let it happen again.”

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