The reservoirs that supply the region of Barcelona and Girona (Ter y Llobregat) are at 16.7% of their maximum capacity, which suggests that more or less imminently (perhaps in two weeks) this entire territory will enter a situation emergency, something that would occur when reserves are at 16%. The result of this measure is that the water supplies that the municipalities will receive from the Generalitat will be reduced to 200 liters per person and day for all uses. This panorama forces administrations and water companies to program an extension of the restrictions in the Barcelona area, which would reach the domestic sphere. And, among the planned measures is a drop in water pressure
The Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB). This administration, which organizes the water service in the 36 municipalities around Barcelona, ??has approved the plan to launch the operation to reduce the pressure of the water supply and respond to the restrictions imposed by the Generalitat in the face of the imminent emergency. due to drought.
The intention is to begin the reduction of water pressure in the municipalities that are exceeding 200 liters per person and day for all uses established in the provisions established by the Generalitat. “In these municipalities we will act now,” said Martín Gullón, director of the AMB’s water cycle area. The municipalities of the metropolitan area that exceed the provision are Cervelló, la Palma de Cervelló, Corbera de Llobregat, Sant Vicens dels Horts and Begues, according to data from November 2023. These are the first candidates for these limitations. The Administration has promised to inform in advance.
In the case of Barcelona (where water consumption is 173 liters per person per day for all uses), the forecast is that this pressure reduction will have to be implemented in phase 3 of the emergency (when the consumption could not exceed 160 liters). This could happen “in a few months, if it doesn’t rain,” says the person in charge of the AMB water cycle.
“We are not going to cut off the water anywhere because if the supply is cut off, problems arise and it is easy for accidental breaks to occur,” says Gullón. The idea is to reduce the water pressure “little by little, to affect the minimum number of people and try to avoid problems,” adds this AMB director. The Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) has promised that the lowering of water pressure will be done in a coordinated manner between administrations and water companies. “The city councils understand the situation and collaborate to do it in the most coordinated way possible,” said Martín Gullón, director of the AMB water cycle.
“Naturally, those who will be most affected when the pressure is reduced will be those who live on the highest floors,” says Gullón. It has been planned to modulate both night and day pressure, “so that the impact is minimal.” Under normal conditions, nighttime pressure is lower. And 73 critical supply points have been identified (hospitals, residences…) whose supply in perfect conditions must be especially preserved. “If someone lives next to a hospital, it is more difficult for them to have a problem with water,” says Gullón graphically, who specifies that the operation is intended to be as “tight and surgical as possible.” The decrease will occur based on the need to adjust to the provisions imposed by the Generalitat.
The metropolitan area as a whole consumes, on average, 170 liters per person per day for all uses (173 in the case of Barcelona), according to data from November 2023, which is considered representative. These are quantities clearly lower than those required by the Drought Plan at level 1 of the emergency (200 liters per person and day for all uses); But these municipal provisions would progressively decrease if it continues without rain (180 liters in emergency level 2 and 160 in emergency level 3), which forces the response to be anticipated.
“We will start with the municipalities that exceed 200 liters a day”, says Gullón. In fact, five metropolitan municipalities exceed the bar of 200 liters and would be the first where these actions would be activated. According to the data provided by the Catalan Water Agency, this threshold is exceeded in Cervelló (282 liters per person and day for all uses), La Palma de Cervelló (278), Corbera de Llobregat (262), Sant Vicens dels Horts (235) and Begues (213), according to data from last November, which may have varied in recent months.
Some have explained that they see it as unfair that they are the first to “pay the bill,” and they understand that the entire network is linked so they cannot be assigned responsibility. Other municipalities complain that they have many losses because their pipes are old and they do not have their own resources or investments to repair them. “The metropolitan area must be considered a whole, since municipal water networks do not distinguish between municipalities. The way they are exploited takes into account the pressure, regardless of the population in question.” The criteria taken into account to order the pressure serve to optimize energy consumption. “We are not going to reduce the pressure without notifying the population in advance,” Guillón clarifies.
The situation in the municipality of Barcelona is, on the other hand, much more favorable, since its consumption (173 liters per person per day for all uses) gives room to delay the pressure reduction “for a few months” if it does not rain at the required level. . But if the level 3 emergency is reached, no more than 160 liters could be consumed and the belt would have to be tightened. This would occur when the Ter and Llobregat reservoirs dropped to 33 hm3. Now they are at 103 hm3, very close to the emergency entry (100 hm3).
