AFTER days of speculation, the Montejaque \u2018ghost dam\u2019 has finally begun releasing water through its spillways after reaching maximum capacity following another spell of heavy rainfall.<\/p>\n
Residents across the Serrania de Ronda have been on tenterhooks over the past week as torrential storms pushed the century-old dam to breaking point, fuelling fears that millions of litres of rain could gush into the valley below.<\/p>\n
The water level was just 25cm from the top on Thursday afternoon and finally reached capacity this morning after Storm Oriana unleashed more rainfall overnight.<\/p>\n
According to the regional government, water is flowing out of the dam at a rate of around 200 cubic metres per second.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Andalucia storm warning: More fears for Grazalema and Montejaque dam as up to 180mm of rainfall expected \u2013 yellow alerts for Ronda and Costa del Sol\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n La \u201cfallida presa\u201d de Los Caballeros en Montejaque funciona, para sorpresa de algunos.Los mecanismos de sifones est\u00e1n haciendo su trabajo.R\u00edo abajo, las familias que pueden verse afectadas por la eventual crecida del Guadiaro, est\u00e1n desde hace d\u00edas desalojadas y no corren peligro pic.twitter.com\/EVBBAzqDUL<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Patricia Navarro (@Navarro_PP) February 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The mayor of nearby Jimera de Libar, Francisco Javier Lobo, said: \u201cThe dam is now releasing water through the upper spillway, which shows that the siphons and the mechanism \u2013 not tested for more than a century \u2013 are working correctly.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are closely monitoring the evolution of the Guadiaro riverbed. In any case, we remain reassured that preventive work has been carried out and there is no risk to the population.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the past week, hundreds of residents in nearby villages including Estacion de Benaojan have been evacuated amid fears the dam could burst its banks.<\/p>\n Built in the 1920s on porous rock, the dam was deemed a massive engineering failure because it could never hold water, which always leaked away through the massive Hundidero-Gato cave system.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Malaga\u2019s Montejaque dam: How a 100-year-old engineering mistake has come back to haunt the Guadiaro Valley<\/a><\/p>\n However, the torrential rains from over four weeks of storms have completely saturated the caves, causing the \u2018ghost dam\u2019 to fill to its limit for the first time in history.<\/p>\n Technicians from Endesa plus officials from the environmental ministry, the Military Emergency Unit (UME) and Guardia Civil have been spotted working away near the site in recent days.<\/p>\n Politicians are seeking to reassure the public that today\u2019s overflow is controlled and proof that infrastructure built over a century ago works perfectly well.<\/p>\n Patricia Navarro, president of the conservative Partido Popular (PP) in Malaga, said video footage of water flowing out of the dam was evidence that the siphon mechanisms were \u2018doing their job\u2019.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cThe \u2018failed dam\u2019 in Montejaque is working, to the surprise of some.<\/p>\n \u201cDownstream, the families who could be affected by the eventual flooding of the Guadiaro have been evacuated for days and are not in danger.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we can be satisfied with a meticulous job in which dozens of professionals have been involved.\u201d<\/p>\n Click here to read more Spain News<\/a> from The Olive Press.<\/p>\n