‘It’s surreal’: residents in shock after the City Council cuts off the water supply to houses in Malaga

A Malaga City Council is facing a class action lawsuit after it allegedly ‘cut off’ the water supply to dozens of homes in an idyllic white village.

Lawyers were called in after affected homeowners in Archez were left without running water for nearly three weeks.

British expat Gail Gilkes told Olive Press that when she raised the issue with Sayalonga council they told her a warning had been posted on the council’s website.

He was surprised to discover that affected residents were expected to install pipes on their own to a new centralized facility.

The 60-year-old woman will need to lay pipes almost two kilometers to her house.

You will also need to seek permission from various property owners whose land the pipes will need to traverse.

“Until now, the quotes for the job have been ranging between €2,000 and €4,000,” he told Olive Press this week.

The Marbella Parodilawyers law firm is now handling the case and bringing together the affected owners for a class action lawsuit.

“The city council has never approached us directly and has cut us off constructively,” Gilkes added.

Gilkes is currently using water from its 15,000-litre water tank, which it says can last around four months.

But her neighbor Anne White isn’t so lucky.

The 54-year-old woman who lived at home with her daughter said she was only surviving on a four-litre water tank, which if used “very conservatively” could last her a week.

But thanks to the generosity of her neighbors, White is able to use the water from her tanks.

“This is a short-term solution, but certainly not a long-term one,” he said.

“It’s surreal that this has happened, it just can’t be right, we’ve had water flowing onto this property for the last 19 years.”

The lawyer Jordi Sánchez told the olive press the council had left the residents in a ‘position of total defenselessness’.

“Every neighbor has the right to have a water supply if they have all the necessary papers for their property, and have paid their taxes and water bills,” he insisted.

“The council can’t just cut off the service. The measure has been adopted in complete contempt of the law.”

Sayalonga Council was contacted for comment but did not respond.

anthony@theolivepress.es

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