The Government has declared a state of emergency in 24 municipalities in the area of ??the Fluvià Muga aquifer (22), in Alt Empordà, and around the Riudecanyes reservoir (2), in Low Field They are the first municipalities to reach the emergency stage, the most serious included in the special drought plan (2020). Samuel Reyes, director of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), emphasizes that the municipalities of Alt Empordà are significantly exceeding the water allocations allocated in the special drought plan and asks them to adjust them to the legal requirement.
Most of these councils confess that they are using more water than stipulated in this plan, according to the information they are supplying monthly to the Generalitat. However, the municipalities cannot be fined for this reason, given the parliamentary agreement that was reached and which set a moratorium on the sanctioning regime.
The situation of the Fluvià Muga aquifer is being critical; it is 14.4 meters above sea level, below the lowest level reached so far, in 2009. As for the Riudecanyes reservoir (Baix Camp), it is at 6% and the emergency will also be declared to guarantee drinking water in the municipalities of Riudecanyes and Duesaigües. For its part, the region of Barcelona and Girona (served by the Ter and the Llobregat), with reservoirs at 28% of maximum capacity, could enter an emergency at the end of November if it doesn’t rain.
The agreed emergency declaration means that the municipalities limit the supply of water for all municipal uses to a maximum of 200 liters per inhabitant per day, among other restrictions (see attached information).
However, in the area of ??the Muga aquifer, only 41% of the municipalities are complying with the allocations set by the drought plan, 50% are not complying with them and the remaining 9% have not provided the data. In Alt Empordà as a whole, only 37% of the municipalities comply with the allocations.
The director of the ACA, Samuel Reyes, pointed out these municipalities in the Empordà. “We are not seeing a significant reduction in consumption in the last year”, he said. The non-compliance is reflected in the data provided by the municipalities, obliged by the special drought plan to inform the ACA every month (although some figures sent by councils, and disseminated by the Generalitat, were wrong, and are being corrected).
Samuel Reyes warned that these Empordà municipalities have even increased consumption in June. The expenditure is being 243 liters per person per day, when in the exceptional phase it should have been 230 liters; and from now on, 200 litres. (This situation is apart from the growth of tourist presence, since the drought plan already takes into account this seasonal increase in the population and the calculation always sets a per capita allowance).
“The situation of the aquifer is critical and we will help the municipalities with everything possible”, he added. “We continue to appeal to the need for savings”, he added. In contrast to this situation, Reyes referred to the “very responsible” behavior of the municipalities in the Riudecanyes area, which “have taken measures” to reduce consumption.
Even so, the municipalities that have exceeded the fixed water allocations cannot be fined for exceeding that limit, since the sanctioning regime was paralyzed by the political pact in Parliament, which conditioned aid to the municipalities, although it will be reactivated starting next week. However, the clock is set to zero and only breaches that take place from now on will be penalized. Yes, there were, on the contrary, disciplinary proceedings for municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants that did not present their drought plan and for “thirty” municipalities that did not even report consumption data (and so it is not known if they exceeded the limit).
The director of the ACA linked the high water consumption in the Alt Empordà to a residential typology. “There are very different cases, but there are areas with swimming pools, private garden areas; you walk around some areas and you see that everything is still green, when in Barcelona you see everything dry”, proof that it would be watering despite the ban.
These Alt Empordà municipalities may see the situation aggravated if new stages of the emergency are entered, which may lead to water supplies being reduced in successive phases up to 180 and 160 liters per person per day.
Reyes reminded that the possible domestic restrictions would correspond to the town councils, because they are municipal competence. “They are the holders of the service, the ones who ‘must see to bringing water to the citizen'”.
The Generalitat is open to continuing to provide aid (to open new wells, improve efficiency and provide technical, legal and financial assistance) and has opened several subsidy lines. “But we are not going to open a street and fix a leak”, he said, graphically. The ACA is open to subsidizing systems to regulate the pressure of water pipes (if this extreme resource is needed) because it is considered a preferable measure to scheduled supply cuts, as it prevents leaks and allows consume less water. Time cuts are a less suitable option, given that they lead to breaks and water leaks, and in addition, it causes citizens to be tempted to fill bathtubs and make provision for water, which in the long run can lead to wasting it.
