The Minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, has expressed her willingness to collaborate with the Generalitat in transporting water by boat to Barcelona if the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) is finally forced to make this decision. The Catalan administration is exploring various alternative solutions to obtain new resources in the face of the extreme possibility that the drought will worsen even further, which could involve hiring tankers to transport water to the Catalan capital.
This provision was expressed last Friday by Minister Teresa Ribera in a telematic interview with the Minister of Climate Action, David Mascort. The councilor asked if the Generalitat could count on the ministry if this transportation was necessary. And “the vice president's response was resounding: in the Government we will always be there to help in extraordinary situations of these characteristics,” indicated a spokesperson for the Ministry for the Ecological Transition.
“It is capital for us to be able to offer our full availability to support the supply needs in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. “We are working with the department and the ACA to see what may be needed,” Ribera said yesterday afternoon. “Obviously, if this drought were to continue, we will be at the disposal of the Generalitat to contribute, to help,” he added.
From South Korea, the President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, has highlighted that, "unfortunately, we have to be prepared for all situations and yes, we are close to having to use boats with water if the situation continues as it has in recent months. ". "We do not have a scheduled date, but if the current situation continues, in the coming weeks, a month or a month and a half from now, we would have to enter an emergency."
Aragonés has assured that it is "essential to collaborate" with Teresa Ribera's ministry to find solutions and has indicated that if it continues without rain "in the coming weeks, within a month or a month and a half" we could enter an emergency due to drought.
The region of Barcelona and Girona is going through a critical situation, since the Ter and Llobregat reservoirs are at 18% of their capacity and it is not ruled out that they will enter an emergency in the second half of December.
Minister Mascort has indicated on several occasions that transporting water from various points (Tarragona, Mallorca and Marseille) is being studied. “If we do not have enough water, when the time comes, we will transport it from wherever it is easiest,” he declared on Radio 4. One of the possibilities is transport from the port of Tarragona, an area that will soon return to normal. After the latest rains, 180 hm3 have entered the Mequinença reservoir, which serves as a reference for the area supplied with water from the Ebro mini-transfer to Tarragona. The reservoir is at 64% of its capacity.
According to the councilor, "perhaps the easiest thing is to transport water from Tarragona", although "it is not clear if it will come from other points, such as Marseille, Mallorca or Murcia." The quickest thing, when the time comes, may be to use the Marseille route “because there is already a ship ready there.” The Government has already contacted the shipping companies, so that all actions can be synchronized.
The technicians at the port of Tarragona are already inspecting the pipe through which the water from the mini-transfer would reach the ships, which would be loaded at the Rioja dock, prepared to carry out this type of operation. Only one boat left with water in the drought of 2008, just before the generous rains. The order received a few days ago in Tarragona is that the facilities must be ready in case this happens.
The Consorci d’Aigües de Tarragona (CAT), the body that manages the water of the Ebro mini-transfer, confirms that sending water by boat would be “technically viable.” The Platform in Defense of Ebre (PDE) is outraged. “Whether by boat or through a pipeline, if you take water from the Ebro to take it to Barcelona, it is a transfer. We hope not to reach the situation, but if it arises, the platform will mobilize in the face of new transfer proposals,” says Susanna Abella, spokesperson for the PDE.
