The areas affected by the extreme drought in Catalonia spread like an oil slick. The Government has decided to extend the exceptional situation due to the lack of reserves in seven more territories in fluvial areas under its jurisdiction. Catalonia goes from having 224 municipalities in exceptional cases to having 495, which totals about six million people whether or not it does.
The areas in this new situation are the Anoia-Gaià , the head of the Ter, the Darnius-Boadella area, the Empordà , the Llobregat Mitjà , Prades-Llaberia and the Serralada Transversal. In all these areas, the limitations on the uses of water that already apply in the central region of Catalonia and Girona served by the Ter and Llobregat reservoirs will be implemented.
The water restrictions in the exceptionality phase focus on the agricultural, livestock and industrial sectors (with cuts of 40%, 30% and 15%) and the ban on the use of drinking water for watering parks and public and private green areas, among others.
The director of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), Samuel Reyes, said yesterday that the rains over the long weekend have been “positive, but still insufficient” to reverse the drought situation. They have given a “slight respite”, but they are far from having provided enough flows to get out of the exceptional situation.
The reservoirs have gained between two and three cubic hectometres, so it is estimated that resources could be scraped for two weeks in total. This “cushion” could be extended at the weekend, when another episode of rain is expected. The reservoirs that supply the Barcelona region are at 25% of their capacity, while last year during the same period they were at 59%.
“We would need it to be like this for the whole of May to get out of this exceptional situation and for all the municipalities that are not connected to supra-municipal networks and that depend on aquifers to benefit from it”, points out Reyes.
In the current situation, and in the most negative scenario (with a total absence of precipitation), the Barcelona region could enter a state of emergency at the beginning of September. In this case, domestic restrictions should be applied for basic services (such as pressure reduction in the pipelines and timetable cuts, among others).
The rains have eased the stress on the plants, but there is a risk of fires due to the accumulation of very dry biomass. Until April, fires have increased by 60% compared to 2021 and 13% compared to 2022. “Climate change is telling us that forest fires are no longer just a summer thing”, remarked PatrÃcia Plaja , Government spokesman.
The Firefighters will also encounter a lack of water in the reservoirs. There are some that cannot be used by bomber planes, which are the ones that collect water for extinguishing; specifically, the Baells, Llosa del Cavall and Sau reservoirs will not be able to fulfill this function. All of this can lead to the collection of water having to be done in more distant places, with the consequent delays in action, without being able to rely on the option of sea water.
In the meantime, the Generalitat maintains the support plan for the municipalities with subsidies totaling 50 million euros, so that they can guarantee the supply and, at the same time, comply with the emergency plans in the face of the drought. Despite this, the Government is lenient and so far has not initiated any disciplinary proceedings against the municipalities for having exceeded the established water allocations (250 liters for all uses in the already passed alert phase), as established the drought decree. In this sense, Reyes indicated that the intention is to “remind” the councils of the current water restrictions and to urge them to comply with them and to take the necessary measures.
The Government will allocate 20 million euros in 2023 for the Forest Fire Prevention Plan. The campaign will be longer this year by one more month compared to previous editions: it will start on June 1 (15 days earlier than usual) and end on September 30 (15 days later than usual). The plan, according to the Government, is the “most ambitious in the history” of this community and is endowed with 74 million euros until 2025.
