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Worrying image of drought. One more. But this time it is not the Osona reservoir, but the Baells reservoir, in Berguedà , which already looks like the set of a western movie, as can be seen in these images in La Vanguardia’s Readers’ Photos.
One of the curious indicators of the progress of the effects of the drought is this boat that is increasingly higher up the mountain, without water around it or at the base of this part of the Baells reservoir, which has become a arid land.
The images reflect this dry winter, with the swamps of the internal basins of Catalonia at 14% of their capacity and with the Baells reservoir at 19%, when normally it would be at least 78%.
In La Baells there are signs of the drought, as its cultural heritage has been exposed, not only the monastery of Sant Salvador de la Vedella. Founded in the year 830 by the monks of San Saturnino de Tavernoles, it is the only building left standing of the old town flooded during the construction of the swamp.
With the extreme drought you can see the ruins of old houses from some of the three towns that were submerged: Miralles, Baells and Sant Salvador de la Vedella.
The drought also makes the marks of the lack of water clearly visible on the banks of the reservoir and also on the pillars of the bridge that crosses it.
The objective of this reservoir is to regulate the upper basin of the Llobregat River, supply water to the metropolitan area of ??Barcelona and produce hydroelectric energy.