Holiday hotspots hit by water shortages with restrictions on refilling pools in Barcelona
MADRID – As Spain heads into the summer holiday season, many of the areas most popular with British tourists are suffering from a severe lack of water because of the ongoing drought.
Nearly 40 per cent of the country is classed as being in a water “emergency” while other areas are on “alert” because of an extraordinarily dry spring.
Worst hit have been areas near tourist hotspots Malaga and Seville and much of Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona.
In areas in “emergency”, restrictions have been imposed on the use of water – and this could happen shortly in others described as on “alert”.
Earlier this month, only 22 per cent of Spain was classed in a water emergency and 18 per cent was said to be on alert, but this proportion has risen sharply.
Crops including olives and other vegetables that are exported to Britain and other parts of northern Europe have been affected.
Restrictions on refilling private pools have been introduced in Catalonia, along with a ban on watering private gardens. Tourist pools and public baths have not so far been affected.
For a tourism-dependent country like Spain, any sign that drought may affect holidays could put off tourists.
“We have not been sufficiently farsighted and we should have contained the use of water for economic consumption of water because of the lack of rainfall,” Jesús Vargas of the University of Malaga, a member of the Citizens’ Drought Observatory, told i.
He said that in some areas, nighttime cuts in towns’ water supplies or irrigation of farms have been brought in.
“We are still a way from restrictions in large urban areas. But we must monitor the situation closely,” he added.
Water reserves across the country have fallen to 47 per cent of their normal level, according to Spanish government data.
Spring this year was the hottest and second-driest in Spain since records began in 1961. The unusually high temperatures are likely to continue throughout the summer.
Sporadic heavy rainfalls in the past week have helped to relieve the lack of water, forecasters said, but it has not solved the overall problem.
Without enough rain, Spain has resorted to using more recycled water.
In May, Spain pledged to spend €1.4bn (£1.2bn) to build the necessary infrastructure for more recycling plants.
“Water is a precious resource, which can also be recycled, it’s worth the effort,” Teresa Ribera, Spanish Ecology Minister, said earlier this month.
