Catalonia Declares Emergency After 1,000+ Days Of Drought; Water Reserves At 16% Of Capacity
After more than 1,000 days of drought, the Catalan government has formally announced a state of emergency, extending water restrictions to Barcelona and the surrounding region. Announcing the measures on Thursday, Pere Aragonès, the Catalan president, said that in some areas it had not rained at all for three years, describing the situation as the worst drought in modern history.
It is estimated that 500mm of rain needs to fall in Catalonia to make up the deficit. Water reserves have fallen below 16%, a level low enough to trigger the emergency declaration. Measures already in place in the north of the region, including a 20% reduction in agricultural irrigation and a ban on watering public parks, will be extended to Barcelona.
Public and private swimming pools will close, with exemptions for those in sports centres, although some pools are adapting to use sea water. Parks will no longer be watered but groundwater will be used to save the city’s 35,000 trees from dying. There will be no showers on the beach nor ornamental fountains. Water parks and ice rinks will close and car washing is to be limited to commercial use. The restrictions will remain in force for at least the next 15 months.
Plans to reduce water pressure have been shelved, partly because Barcelonans are keeping within a daily consumption limit of 200 litres and also because nearly everyone lives in blocks of flats and a pressure drop would discriminate against those living on upper floors.
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/01/catalonia-declares-drought-emergency-extending-water-limits-to-barcelona