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Date Published: 12/08/2022

ARCHIVED - Drought forces water restrictions as Spain endures driest period in 500 years

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Seven autonomous communities in Spain have imposed restrictions on water consumption

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Drought forces water restrictions as Spain endures driest period in 500 years

Spain is experiencing its driest period of weather in more than half a century and depleting water reserves are forcing governments and local authorities to impose consumption restrictions.

Half of the Europe is under warning to rethink water use and almost a fifth is on alert. In Spain, reservoirs are at some of their worst levels ever, below 40% of their capacity.

In 2021, the reservoirs were at 47% of their capacity, when the average for the last 10 years is 58.6%. The worst affected basin at the moment is that of Guadalquivir, with just 24.2% of its capacity.

The severity of the situation has forced seven autonomous communities to take restrictive measures regarding water consumption. Together with the measures adopted so far, these are:

Galicia

The councils of Poio, Sanxenxo, Marín, Bueu and Pontecaldelas have closed footbaths and showers on beaches, banned the filling of swimming pools, street washing and car washing, and pledged to detect and stop possible water leaks in the supply network.

The City Council of Carballo (A Coruña) has met with Augas de Galicia to establish restrictions on public services and is calling on the public "to prevent the current pre-alert situation from worsening".

In Baltar and Boborás, they have banned the use of water to irrigate gardens, orchards and farms, fill swimming pools, wash cars or any type of vehicle, under warning of a fine.

The City Council of Ribadavia (Ourense) was forced to carry out water supply cuts last weekend due to the lack of supplies in the municipal reservoir and the situation "is still critical and dramatic", leading to further night-time cuts this week.

Catalonia

The Generalitat of Catalonia has limited water consumption in 150 municipalities to 200 litres per person per day. In the city of Solsona, water has been supplied by tankers to one of the municipal network reservoirs for a week. And in Barcelona, water use in the metropolitan area is expected to be limited from September onwards.

Andalusia

Andalusia is applying restrictions in some provinces and the regional authorities have asked the central government for an urgent meeting to approve a drought decree with "a high financial allocation". In Malaga, the local councils have been applying restrictions such as cutting off the water supply to showers on the beaches of Rincón de la Victoria and Vélez-Málaga since August 1.

In recent weeks, night-time restrictions have been maintained and water has been distributed in tanker trucks in the Antequera region. And in Huelva, 10 municipalities in the Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche region have also endured evening or overnight restrictions.

Meanwhile, water cuts of between seven and 13 hours are being carried out in the Sierra de Huelva. In La Carlota (Córdoba), access to drinking water is restricted from midnight until 7am.

Extremadura

The lack of water mainly affects the Tentudía region of Badajoz. In nine municipalities there is an "urgent recommendation" not to use water to irrigate gardens or to wash streets, nor to fill swimming pools or wash cars.

Castilla y León

In some municipalities, such as Barruelo de Santullán in Palencia, the local councils have banned the filling of private swimming pools, washing cars and watering gardens. In Zamora, the Provincial Council has distributed cisterns with drinking water to 20 municipalities,.

Navarra

There are water restrictions in small towns, those supplied with water from small springs or river headwaters, such as Erro, where the Town Council has banned the irrigation of vegetable gardens and restricts water at night.

Euskadi

Restrictions in certain areas where municipalities have to supply water from rivers and aquifers. Garden watering, filling private swimming pools and washing cars have been banned for the time being.

The critical situation has also forced city and town councils to consider suspending their traditional water events which usually round off fiestas in August, so it's worth checking on individual Town Hall websites to check if this is the case.

Also of interest: Spain braces itself for final flourish of heat: weather forecast August 11-14

Image: Commons Wikimedia

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