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Spain may have to use water supplies from underground reserves and desalination plants, if rains do not come in October after one of their worst recorded droughts. 

Rivers and reservoirs have fallen to their lowest levels since records began 10 years ago, leaving unusable sludge in some and threatening restrictions in the worst-affected regions. Valencia and Murcia in the south have rely on water from Spain's longest river, the Tajo, whose source is in mountains east of Madrid. But the  drought has brought the Tajo's waters too low to be transferred to the Segura river system that supplies millions further south. 

Spain will use water from desalination plants and underground wells to supply the regions if things get worse, the Environment Ministry said earlier this month, though using undergrounbd sources provokes further long-term problems.

Local authorities in these popular tourist areas have been criticised for not restricting water use. "Neither Murcia nor Valencia have implemented restrictions this summer, which is pretty bad," said Greenpeace's Julio Barea. "It's a political issue." Spanish environment minister Cristina Narbona accused local politicians of being more concerned with building villas, hotels and golf courses for tourists than managing the water supply. Hotels say they have not been told to limit water use.

At the time of writing, there's rain forecast for the week after next...