One-third of towns use more water than maximum permitted 

One-third of towns within the Catalan internal basins use more water than the maximum set according to the drought restrictions in place. This is according to figures published by the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) on Wednesday.

Currently, people living in areas of a state of exceptionality should only use a maximum of 230 liters per day. Additionally, there are also limits on the amount of water that can be used for agriculture, industry, and leisure.

Some 36% of municipalities in the Catalan internal basins, the part of the territory where Catalonia manages the water as the source begins in Catalonia and ends in the Mediterranean, are not complying with the restrictions set. 

These towns account for around 9% of the population. 

Higher water consumption occurs in small municipalities, housing developments, and tourist hotspots, although authorities announced that reasons are "varied" and at times "difficult" to determine.

The only regional capital that exceeds the established limit is Ripoll, with 265 liters per person per day.

Castellet i la Gornal (427 liters per person per day), Vilobí del Penedès (421 liters), and Sant Esteve Sesrovires (394 liters) are some of the towns consuming most water. 

However, the data published by the ACA indicate that more than half of the municipalities in the internal basins of Catalonia are complying with the measures, and these areas represent more than 90% of the population.

In May in Barcelona, consumption stood at 168 liters per person per day. In other large municipalities of the metropolitan area, water consumption last month was also below 200 liters on average: in Hospitalet de Llobregat (140), in Badalona (147), Sabadell (156), and Terrassa (200).

Sanctions

Yet, authorities have announced that they do not want to punish councils that do not comply with the restrictions. 

Among the causes of excessive consumption are also leaks, which, according to ACA officials, occur at specific points in the network, or continuously in very old networks.

The Government approved a line of subsidies worth €50 million for councils to repair or improve their water supply networks this week.

However, the ACA has also sent letters to municipalities that exceed their water allocations, and requested data from those who did not submit anything about their consumption.

Thirty sanctioning files have been opened for not presenting the data, and ACA officials want this to serve as a "warning." The organization did not specify which municipalities it has sanctioned and has indicated that the sanctions do not exceed €1,000.

The director of the ACA explained that they have not started to hand out fines as it would not make sense to do so when some towns have yet to send over their data.