The Mequinenza reservoir, the great reference on the Ebro River for water supply in the province of Tarragona, opened its floodgates this morning at eight. The reservoir, at 83% capacity, releases water downstream together with the Riba-Roja and Flix (Ribera d'Ebre) reservoirs, already in Catalonia.
The Ebro Hydrographic Confederation is supervising the operation.
The rains upstream, in Aragon, Navarra and the Basque Country, explain the good condition of the Mequinenza, Riba-roja and Flix reservoirs, which form a single water reserve system.
The floodgates in Mequinenza opened at eight in the morning and will continue releasing water until three in the afternoon. In this way, the large reservoir of the Ebro River, the one with the greatest capacity, key to the supply of drinking water for a large part of the Tarragona district, makes room for the water that is expected to continue filling up the Ebro River in the coming weeks. .
The ecological flow is also guaranteed in the final stretch of the Ebro River until it reaches the mouth, in the Ebro delta, regulated by the Spanish Government.
Mequinenza is at 83 percent, according to data updated 24 hours ago, with more than 1,139 cubic hectometers of water. The annual consumption of the Ebro to Tarragona mini-transfer is 76 cubic hectometers per year, with a maximum flow of 4 cubic meters per second.
The situation of the Mequinenza reservoir contrasts with that of the swamps of the internal basins of Catalonia, which supply the metropolitan area of Barcelona and which today could be below 16% of its capacity, the limit established to decree entry into the drought emergency phase.
