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In The Photos of the Readers of La Vanguardia we can see the sad state in which we now find the Baells reservoir at the height of Cercs, in the Berguedà. The last rain recorded yesterday in Catalonia was of little or no use.

In fact, the current resources in the reservoirs in the internal Catalan basins continue at 16%. The Baells is at 21.75%, so, despite the desert appearance that it presents in some of its sections, as we see in the photographs, there are other swamps that are even worse.

Riudecanyes is at 3.04% (last year at this time it was at 13.05%); Siurana is at 3.44% (last year it was at 7.80%); Sau is at 6.36% (19.16% last year), Darnius Boadella is at 12.71% (31.48% in January 2023) and Llosa del Cavall is at 17.48% (27.33% in 2023).

In Spain as a whole, Spanish reservoirs are at 45.9% of their capacity, 0.2 percentage points more than a week ago, with which the country’s water reserve returns to the path of recovery after two consecutive weeks of low, according to data published this past Wednesday by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition. Catalonia is still one of the black spots due to the drought, with that 16% critical, as reflected in these images of the Baells.

In this reservoir there are clearly visible marks of the drought and the cultural heritage is visible, 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 on 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.

Thus, Barcelona City Council has warned that the emergency phase due to drought, which Catalonia may enter this January if abundant rainfall does not arrive in the coming weeks, could affect domestic supply if the phase of more advanced emergency.