Drought restrictions to stay despite reservoirs' levels increasing after Storm Jana

The Catalan government has announced that the drought restrictions will remain despite reservoir levels surpassing 41% capacity following Storm Jana.

As a result, there will be no changes for the 38 municipalities currently in a state of emergency. The vast majority—35 of them—are in the northeastern county of Alt Empordà.

Recent rainfall across Catalonia brought between 30 and 60 liters per square meter, increasing river flow levels and raising the capacity of internal basins.

In just 24 hours, from Monday to Tuesday, internal basins gained 10 cubic hectometers, surpassing 41% capacity. Experts have not recorded such levels since August 2022. Exactly one year ago, on March 8, 2024, reservoirs hit a record low of just 14% capacity.

"This has been one of the most rainy weekends in the last years," government spokesperson Sílvia Paneque told journalists after the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Rainfall has been homogeneously spread across the territory, and meteorologists have registered an increase of reservoir levels of 63 cubic hectometers, which is the same amount of water treated by Catalonia's largest desalinization plant in one year.

"Rainfall was very welcome, but these do not solve the drought issue," Paneque said. However, she did not rule out lifting some restrictions in the upcoming days, especially in those municipalities dependent on the Darnius-Boadella reservoir in the Alt Empordà county.

She told journalists from the government's headquarters that the weather forecast for April is rainy, which will be used to make "adequate decisions" and not to think that the drought is over.

However, if it does not rain, Paneque informed that the municipalities in a state of exceptionality will not see any new restrictions until November.