The day Sau stopped being a swamp

* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
01 October 2023 Sunday 22:59
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The day Sau stopped being a swamp

* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia

The Sau reservoir, in Osona, no longer looks like a swamp, but rather a large pond. The flow has dropped to 17%, when a year ago it was 26% and the average for the last five years is 96%.

The images in La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos show us that the swamp is already growing mushrooms. We will soon see dead fish.

In the cracked earth of the swamp you can already see some very large white flakes, it smells bad. Although, if we look closely, we will also find curious and beautiful images, such as the moon nailed to the lightning rod of the bell tower of the church of Sant Romà.

The drought is visible throughout the Sau reservoir, which has become an authentic archaeological site because the old town of Sant Romà was discovered months ago (and not just the church, which was built in the 11th century).

The Sau reservoir, located in the municipality of Vilanova de Sau, is at the foot of the Guilleries massif. It is part of a system of three reservoirs, along with those of Susqueda and Pasteral, which unites the counties of Osona and La Selva.

The reservoir, inaugurated in 1962, covered the town of Sant Romà de Sau, the remains of which, especially the temple's bell tower, are visible when the water level is low, as at the moment.