Catalonia set to declare drought emergency on Thursday

The Catalan government is set to declare a drought emergency in the Ter-Llobregat system on Thursday. 

The executive has convened the Interdepartmental Drought Commission as reservoirs in the area have, for the first time, fallen below 100 cubic hectometers, the threshold for declaring the first phase of a drought emergency, according to the Special Drought Plan.

Water reserves are currently at 16.3% but are forecast to drop below 16% in the coming days, another key threshold for the government, spokesperson Patrícia Plaja explained on Tuesday. 

The critical situation has forced the executive to call this extraordinary meeting on Thursday, Plaja said, where "the scenario will be assessed" and – "most likely" – an emergency will be declared. 

High temperatures in recent days "have had an impact and have caused a sharper drop in water reserves, more typical of spring than now," Plaja said. 

If, as expected, the emergency is decreed, "clear instructions will be given on what this entails for the population and for all sectors."

Swimming pools

On January 16, the government approved changes to the Special Drought Plan, which envisages three levels of emergency, depending on water reserves. 

In emergency phase one, indoor swimming pools included on the government's list of sports facilities can be refilled as long as water consumption is reduced elsewhere on site. 

As water evaporates more easily from outdoor pools, they can only remain open if showers at sports facilities are closed to compensate. 

Other swimming pools not run by sports clubs, including private pools, shared pools in apartment blocks, or pools in hotels and spas, cannot be refilled either in whole or in part in emergency phase one. 

In emergency phase two, if a sports center wants to refill its indoor pool, they will have to close their showers. 

The government has eased the restrictions on watering sports pitches during phase one and two. Irrigation will be allowed at sports clubs but only with regenerated water or ground water, which does not compete with domestic supply. 

Furthermore, in phase one, other saving measures must be used at facilities to compensate for water used to irrigate pitches, while in phase two, showers must be closed. 

Phase three of the emergency will affect all gyms and sports clubs, whether or not they have a grass pitches or swimming pools. 

In this stage, the most restrictive, all sports facilities will be banned from watering grass and filling or refilling swimming pools, and showers will be closed.  

Exceptions 

The government will maintain some exceptions for health and social care purposes. Pools intended for therapeutic use in hospitals, care homes, social education centers or for social care services, as well as pools to be used by people who have been diagnosed with a behavioral disorder, can all be refilled. 

Seawater pools not connected to the water supply can also be filled. 

Trees, beach showers, ice rinks, consumption cap 

The government has eased the restrictions on watering trees in phases one and two. Watering of public trees will be allowed with regenerated water or ground water, in order to avoid trees falling or dying as they want to preserve them for their cooling effect in summer. 

Beach showers will be banned during the emergency phase, as will ice rinks and foam parties. 

As well as the measures modified by the government on Tuesday, there are several other water saving measures in the Special Drought Plan to be applied during an emergency scenario, including a cap on consumption of 200 liters per person per day, dropping to 160 liters in the event of an extreme emergency.