Spain's Catalonia region declares a drought emergency in 24 towns that will see water cuts
Northeastern Spain’s Catalonia region has declared a drought emergency in 24 municipalities following a severe lack of rain in recent years
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Northeastern Spain’s Catalonia region declared a drought emergency in 24 municipalities Wednesday following a severe lack of rain in recent years.
Restrictions put in place as part of the emergency will principally affect agricultural and industrial water usage but not drinking water, Catalonia Water Agency Director Samuel Reyes said at a news conference.
The measures will come into force next week and affect 22 towns in Alt Empordà, Spain's most northeastern county, and two towns just south of Barcelona, the regional capital. The municipalities have a combined population of 26,000, the agency said.
Irrigation water for agriculture will be reduced by 80% and supplies for industrial use by 25%. Filling swimming pools and watering gardens and parks will be prohibited. The emergency restrictions also ban the filling of public fountains and using fresh water to wash cars.
The towns also will have their per capita water allocations reduced from 230 liters (61 gallons) per day a day to 200 liters (about 53 gallons). The supplies are intended for residential uses such as washing and public services such as street cleaning.
The Catalonia Water Agency said residents normally use 116 liters (about 31 gallons) of water daily, and Reyes urged people to try to reduce that to 90 liters (about 24 gallons).
Catalonia has been one of the regions hardest hit by a drought affecting much of Spain for the past two years. Parts of Catalonia and the Andalusia region in southern Spain already adopted less-stringent limits on water use because of the drought.
Spain's Ecological Transition Ministry said Wednesday that reservoirs nationally were at 42% of their capacity.
____
Follow all AP stories on climate change at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment