The Murcia City Council commissioned a connected irrigation system for the city’s green spaces on 12 August 2026. According to Ayuntamiento de Murcia the infrastructure manages more than 150 Parks and Gardens and comprises around 50,000 individual irrigation points. The system adjusts water volumes and running times according to measured soil moisture and current weather data, to reduce consumption and prevent overwatering.
The figures come from a city statement and a regional news agency report published on Tuesday. The aim is to supply water according to the needs of different planting areas, which vary depending on exposure, soil and vegetation. Timings can be changed centrally or watering can be suspended automatically when rain is forecast.
The move is part of an irrigation upgrade launched in 2025 as a component of Murcia’s smart city strategy. According to city documents, selected sites have been fitted with sensors, local control units and weather stations connected via a remote monitoring and control platform (telemanagement). In earlier statements, the city put the reduction in consumption in areas already converted at around 35 per cent; this figure is based on automatically suspending irrigation during rainfall and adjusting it according to moisture readings.
The city has two aims in expanding the system: adapting to longer dry spells and easing pressure on the municipal budget by reducing the use of mains water. Technically, combining sensors with centralised data processing makes it possible to control individual sections of a park more precisely, for example by targeting watering at tree pits or newly planted beds without overwatering adjacent areas. This could support vegetation health during heatwaves and help keep maintenance schedules stable.
Current city figures confirm coverage of more than 150 sites and around 50,000 irrigation points, as well as the gradual introduction of remote control since 2025. The administration’s documents reviewed do not specify which suppliers are providing the components, how maintenance is organised or when the planned conversion of all designated areas is expected to be completed.
If it operates reliably and its performance is assessed transparently, the system could reduce water consumption in Murcia and increase the resilience of urban vegetation during heatwaves. The quality of implementation and the adaptability of the control logic to local conditions will be key.
Editor: Andreas M. Brucker (Article created with AI assistance).