Latest reports show that as a months-long drought that has devastated crops starts to affect human activities in Spain, Barcelona and large swathes of the Mediterranean country’s northeast are going under water restrictions.
Recall that In 2008, a prolonged drought forced Spanish authorities to bring in water to Barcelona via boat to guarantee domestic use. a situation which led to the construction of a desalination plant near Barcelona that local authorities say is the largest in Europe with a capacity to produce 60 hm3 in a year.
Patrícia Plaja, the spokeswoman for the Catalan administration, said that the latest measures will affect 6.7 million people, 80% of the population in the Catalonia region, adding that for now, it will not be necessary to limit the use of water inside homes for washing, cooking or drinking.
She however said that the government has since urged citizens to “be aware of the exceptional situation the country is facing.
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According to reports, the measures which will take effect from Friday will include reductions in water for the irrigation of crops and industry. City dwellers won’t be permitted to use drinking water to wash the exterior of houses or cars or to fill swimming pools. Over 500 town halls, including Barcelona, must stop filling public fountains or cleaning streets with drinking water.
Experts have linked the below-average rainfall to global climate change which has shrunken reservoirs and damaged agriculture and the environment across Spain, a situation which has made Barcelona the second major city in Spain to limit water use after Seville did so with similar measures in September following an extremely dry, hot summer.
Story was adapted from NBC news.
