The alarm has been raised in Catalonia. More than 200 municipalities in the area are in a situation of emergency due to drought. There are strong water restrictions! The drop of more than 16% of the system’s water reserves Ter-Llobregat has led to Govern to expand the state of emergency to 202 municipalities in the south of the province of Girona and the metropolitan area of Barcelona (with the capital included). That has been the announcement of the president Peter Aragonés. The red alert entails strong restrictions on the uses made of water that affect several sectors: agricultural, industrial, urban and recreational.
The context is critical and harms some six million inhabitants who took supplies from the swamps, aquifers, desalination plants and purification plants of the Ter-Llobregat. This adds to the areas of Tarragona and the north of Gironawhich closed 2023 in a state of emergency. In this specialized article, we tell you what restrictions are being added now, how much they can be increased and how Catalan homes and companies will be affected.
Which towns in Catalonia are affected by the state of emergency?
The state of emergency due to drought now reaches 202 towns in Alt Penedès, Anoia, Bages, Baix Empordà, Baix Llobregat, Barcelonès, Berguedà, Garraf, Gironès, Maresme, Selva, Solsonès, the Western Vallèsand the Vallès Oriental. To these regions are added 36 municipalities dependent on the reservoir Riudecanyes (Tarragona), the swamp Darnius-Boadella and the aquifer Fluvià-Muga (Girona) that were already at the maximum alert level.
Measures taken by Catalonia in the face of the drought emergency
The first measure that Catalans have to undergo has to do with controlling their water consumption. They must limit the volume released from reserves each day to supply the population.
This is measured by maximum amount per person per day and will be 200 liters in regions with emergency I. If the situation worsens, the drought plan covers two more levels: 180 liters per person per day in stage II and 160 liters in the III. This limitation highlights the Generalitatharms both homes and economic and commercial activities.
There will be restrictions in the field and industry. The worst part is agriculture, whose irrigation is suppressed by 80% in the state of emergency. There may be exceptions subject to authorization for “survival irrigation” for woody crops. Livestock uses are reduced by half.
Restrictions become more lax for industrial and urban use, with a 25% decrease in water consumption. In parallel, city councils can add more prohibitions in sports facilities (public or private) and other leisure spaces. Likewise, each locality can apply water saving measures, as contemplated in its drought plans.
Swimming pools and sports fields will be affected, but there will be exceptions. Recreational uses of water are prohibited, although the Govern Consider some exceptions.
Exceptions for water use
Irrigation of public and private gardens, which was previously prohibited with the exception of singular or monumental trees, can now be done only if phreatic (subsoil) or regenerated water is used. The Generalitat Justifies this modification to guarantee that the trees of the cities continue in good condition, for safety for pedestrians and climatic refuge for the summer. In turn, federated sports can irrigate their fields with regenerated water or water extracted from wells, but must apply compensatory measures, such as closing showers.
Public indoor and outdoor swimming pools used throughout the year for federated sports can be partially refilled if the water used is offset by saving measures. “We have declared sport as an essential physical activity, precisely because we did not want to close the possibility that boys and girls could be playing soccer in the fields or going swimming,” explained the vice president. Villager in RNE last Wednesday.
The exceptions for gardens, fields and swimming pools would be removed if emergency level II is reached.