With the relentless drought, with the weather maps announcing a second half of August without rain. With a complicated autumn in sight and restrictions already in force and harsh among farmers. With the swamps at a minimum and the impact of the lack of water very visible on the environment, with forests with an unprecedented mortality of trees. Faced with this worrying panorama, a part of the showers and footbaths on Catalan beaches continue to use drinking water so that bathers and tourists can wash the sand off their feet or get rid of the saltpeter before getting home, where the majority shower again .
It happens in some of the most touristic municipalities of the Costa Daurada (Tarragona, Salou, Cambrils or La Pineda), with guaranteed water thanks to the mini-diversion of the Ebro river, on the sandbanks of the city of Barcelona, with a shower and footbath open by each beach, or in Castelldefels, with half of the footbaths operating.
The number of showers or footbaths in operation has been reduced in all cases, but it is considered that a balance can be maintained between the need to save water and maintaining minimum services for beach users, a powerful tourist attraction. Contrast this situation with what most of the town halls on the Costa Brava have decided, with showers and footbaths closed.
It is also surprising that some of the municipalities have decided to change the policy on the beaches after the political changes of 23-M. They have done it without hardly generating controversy, almost on tiptoe.
This is the case of Tarragona, which after the arrival of Rubén Viñuales (PSC) to the mayor's office decided to reopen half of the showers and footbaths in July. It is guaranteed that at least one shower on each beach is operational. The previous government (ERC, Junts and CUP) closed all the pumps in June due to the drought alert. "A balance is sought between the situation of strong heat, savings due to the severe drought and at the same time the well-being of bathers," said the mayor of Medi Ambient, Guillermo García (PSC), after the change.
Castelldefels has distanced itself from the slogan of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) and the City Council's beach commission, with the PP in the mayor's office since June, has decided to reopen the footbaths. First there were a few and they have ended up being a fortnight. The showers, on the other hand, are kept closed.
The local government defends the decision due to the fact that it is the only coastal municipality in the metropolitan area that is considered a tourist municipality, apart from Barcelona, and the fact that the data shows that it does not exceed the water consumption limit maximum established in the exceptional scenario. Municipal sources point out that only 5% of the total water expenditure is municipal and 0.08% corresponds to the footbaths.
The beaches of the metropolitan area of Barcelona, with eleven million visitors each summer, began the season without showers or footbaths, but as the weeks have passed, the rules have become more flexible. Every beach in the city of Barcelona has a shower and an active footbath, around which those who want to soak up crowd around. In the rest of the metropolitan beaches there is no such possibility. Bathers in Gavà and El Prat do not have any points available.
In Salou, the tourist epicenter of the Costa Daurada, 50% of the showers and sinks work. The measure began to be applied in June, with its mayor, Pere Granados, appealing "to the responsibility of citizenship". The municipal government, with Sumem for Salou, PSC and ERC, remembers that it is complying with the measures dictated by the Catalan Water Agency (ACA).
In Cambrils the showers have not been closed until the beginning of this August, in a measure adopted by the new government (ERC, PSC, Junts and En Comú Podem). On the other hand, the footbaths are kept open. "The measure seeks a balance to avoid wasting water and at the same time guarantee the comfort of beach users," says the councilor for Turisme i Platges, Camí Mendoza (ERC). The consumption of the showers between July and September last year was 12,361 m³ of water.
In Vila-seca, on the large beach in the tourist center of La Pineda, the showers continue to function, but with two of the three jets closed in each shower column. The footbaths are 100% active, according to municipal sources.
The situation changes notably on the Costa Brava. From Portbou to Blanes there is no operational shower. The bathers of the beach of Sa Conca, in Platja d'Aro, pass with total indifference next to the showers and footbaths that are in its sandbanks. Nobody, except some foreign tourist presses the button with the idea of shaking off the sand or removing the salt after the dip. A sign in Catalan, Spanish, English and French indicates that the shower is out of service due to restrictions on the use of drinking water.
It is not an exceptional case on the Costa Brava. The restriction does not surprise bathers. In general, there is a lot of awareness that water must be saved. The vast majority, natives or tourists, applaud the measure that should help alleviate the drought, even if it is somewhat uncomfortable. "It seems like a great idea to me, the planet is in danger," says the French Hanna Ibba, from Marseille, from Castell d'Aro.
“Humans waste too much water. Look how dry those pines are! The restriction seems fine to me and that it lasts as long as it takes, ”adds Joaquín Lázaro, while he leaves the beach with his grandson. The longed-for shower will have to wait a few minutes, the time to get home.
Although the June rains gave a minimal respite to the swamps, which are on average at 27% of their capacity, the situation remains critical. And although the Sequera Special Plan does not require the closure of public showers, the ACA does recommend it. In this sense, the 21 municipalities of the Costa Brava have chosen to turn off the tap and save, although this measure is inconvenient for the millions of tourists they receive every summer. “I understand the measure but it is annoying, especially for children,” says Pablo Díaz, from Barcelona. "I think it's excessive, there are other ways to save," criticizes Marc Tort, from El Masnou.
What beach showers spend in a summer is highly variable. For example, between Gran and Griells beaches, the main ones in L'Estartit, by the end of the season some 1,100 cubic meters of water will have been saved, the equivalent of what some 8,200 people consume in one day.
In Lloret de Mar, according to data provided by the City Council, the 40 showers spread along its beaches consumed a total of 14,000 cubic meters of water in 2019, or what is the same, 14 million liters. It is the equivalent of the water that a city like Girona uses in one day. Municipal sources indicate that the savings by eliminating this beach furniture is 0.6% of the consumption in the city during the summer months. In Palamós, the last year in which the shower water meter was differentiated from irrigation, some 3,500 m³ were used in one summer.
Having inoperative showers is not a novelty for some municipalities. Cadaqués or El Port de la Selva, in the Alt Empordà, have already adopted restrictions of this type. Others, such as Blanes or Castelló d'Empúries, have not even installed them this year.
