First, the worst-case scenario; the rain just hasn’t fallen, and Catalonia’s reservoirs are at a record low: less than 25% of their capacity. A state of emergency isn’t far off. “If there isn’t significant rainfall we need to apply drastic measures for consumption,” says Ecologistes en Acció de Catalunya spokesperson, Elisenda Forés. “We need to involve citizens in the efficient use of water if we’re to overcome the crisis.”
The likelihood of rain is becoming less of a reality, and restrictions are already being enforced on nonessential domestic usage. “The drought we are currently suffering from is the most severe in the last 60 years,” confirms Xavi Duran Ramírez, press spokesman for the Agència Catalana de l’Aigua (ACA). “We’re suffering the consequences of a drought that started at the end of 2004, during which time there hasn’t been sufficient precipitation into Catalonia’s river basins. The results can be seen in the drop in reservoir levels.”
The question is how, if this crisis began as far back as 2004, has the situation been allowed to become so critical? If only it were purely down to the pesky environment, then we could all wring our hands at the sky and resurrect long forgotten rain dances. When we take into account widespread mismanagement of water resources, inefficient agricultural methods and unchecked urban planning, lack of rainfall clearly isn’t the only factor that has contributed to the dreadful situation we face today in Barcelona.
The Generalitat de Catalunya admitted as much only last month. Leaks from the main’s supply, combined with rotting pipe work and reports of contaminated water, have ravaged the city’s network. “I apologise in my name, and in the name of my predecessors”, pleaded Manel Hernández, director of the ACA. Leaks in the supply system have cost the municipal area as much as 8% of its water supply.
To counter this unnecessary wastage, repair works and recyclying schemes are underway to update the supply network. “The Generalitat has developed various solutions to guarantee sufficient water supplies,” comments Xavi Duran Ramírez. “These include a drought decree that has been rigorously imposed since April 2007. €177 million has been invested in emergency planning over the last two years alone, and we’ve obviously been working to reduce leaks in the system as much as we can – although it’s impossible to guarantee there won’t be any at all. Bear in mind also that if we hadn’t done anything, right now we’d be at 10% capacity instead of the 22% which is currently available.”
Cause for optimism, indeed. For the average person, however, restricting the use of the swimming pools of the rich and famous isn’t too pressing a concern; like the rest of us, they’ll have to make do with bathing for free in the big salty pool down at the beach this summer. For most city dwellers not being able to water the garden will also have minimal impact, but as it gets hotter and all but the tourist-frequented parks begin to yellow and shrivel-up in the heat, the urban landscape will rapidly change before our eyes.
At least BCNeta crews are no longer using perfectly good drinking water to hose-down the plazas, but as the current reduced 48hr cleaning schedules become even less frequent, the carrers will take-on an even fruitier demeanor. Public fountains have been switched off, and there’s no onstreet drinking water either. But this is just the start, and summer hasn’t even begun to threaten!
If predictions are to be believed, domestic supply restrictions won’t be imposed until September, when the full effects of the dry winter and a scorching summer fully hit. Whatever happens between now and then, water will be severely limited come the end of the summer. “Five million people will have their taps turned off unless measures are taken against the drought,” warned Montse Alom à Masana, head of communications at the ACA back in February
According to the Ecologistes en Acció de Catalunya, restricting the water supply alone won’t do a lot to conserve water. “Restrictions won’t work due to the weakness of the pipe network”, says Elisenda Forés. “Measures should apply to the urban as well as the industrial and agricultural sectors, who all need to consume recycled forms of water as soon as possible.”
The real problem is the way we use water, with wasteful agricultural practices and unnecessary industrial and urban consumption contributing to mass inefficiencies. According to statistics printed in La Vanguardia newspaper Barcelonans are relatively prudent with their domestic consumption, using 110 litres of water per-capita per-day, compared with Beijing residents who use a whopping 700 litres per-day. Despite this, we still face restrictions.
“The city of Barcelona doesn’t have a particularly high level of water consumption,” comments Elisenda Forés, “and it shouldn’t be subjected to restrictions until after those municipalities in the outskirts and suburbs. We need to find a way to consume less water at domestic and urban levels in the areas of the province with more diffused urbanisation.”
Back to those gardens with swimming pools again. But while we deride wasteful farmers, bemoan inefficient public infrastructure and abuse fat-cats in their backyard Jacuzzis, we’re ignoring the crucial problem: we all need to mend our ways if we’re going to have a hope of making it through to the next century.
Water restrictions could be repeated, more seriously every year, unless our habits and ways of using the most precious of natural resources don’t radically change. “Drought is a meteorological phenomenon,” says Elisenda Forés, “and the only thing people can do is to adapt to the diminishing water resources. We use an excessive amount of water because we’re not conscious of the limitations: we need to implement campaigns to raise public awareness that include alternatives to current consumption.
Realising the effects of drought only when supplies reach rockbottom isn’t ideal, but at least the Generalitat is guaranteeing that the price of current measures to combat the drought will not be passed to consumers – regardless of how badly they are hit. “The price of water will remain the same, and in no way are the measures currently being implemented by the government to include a rise in the price of water. All the emergency plans will be covered by the Generalitat,” says the ACA.
As we reconsider how water is used in all walks of life, it must be understood that unless measures are implemented and action very quickly taken, one day soon water will not come out of the taps when we want it to. The ACA’s Xavi Duran Ramírez informs that “the Generalitat plans to use more water from desalination plants, to recover underground irrigation sources and recycle more water to improve the efficiency of the water system.” Whilst this demonstrates a positive set of future ideas, couldn’t such measures have been foreseen a long time ago–as they were in other parts of Spain that face regular water shortages?
Improved public education in water efficiency measures, especially in agriculture and industry sectors, would also be a good move. As the Generalitat spends over €100 million this year on combative measures, what’s to say the same amount or even more won’t be spent the following year, and every year hence, until serious long term solutions are found? Although an exceptionally bad year for rainfall, it certainly isn’t the first–and definitely won’t be the last.
Ships carrying water from Marseille are due to arrive on the 15th May. “This is a palliative measure, designed to be temporary and focused on delaying the application of water restrictions and cuts in the supply,” says the ACA. But if Barcelona is to survive, sustainability and long term action – not short term reaction – must form the basis of any solution.
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