The grass has been badly touched during the present drought in the parks, gardens, streets and squares of Barcelona. The lack of irrigation or the reduction of its intensity, forced by the restrictions on the use of water resources applied since March, is noticeable in a good part of the city. Despite the fact that the latest rains have made it regrow in some places, there are many areas with dry grass, if not gone. But there are some in which it survives thanks to the use of groundwater, which is allowed, although it is used in less than usual quantities. In any case, situations like the current one, with increasingly frequent shortages of reserves, raise the need to make changes in the management of green areas in the Catalan capital.
Of the approximately thousand hectares of green areas that Barcelona has, some 400 correspond to grass or ground cover plants, such as ivy. The manager of the Institut Municipal de Parcs i Jardins, Francesc Jiménez, advances that "we are working on a project for the gradual planting of shrub species, which are more resistant and require less water, on part of this surface". But, he points out, "there will continue to be places where grass will continue to play a leading role", especially in historic venues such as Ciutadella or in newly created ones that include meadows, such as Glòries. In both examples, the soil is still green because they are areas that are connected to the water table.
The contrasts are obvious. The Poblenou park, next to the beaches, offers these days an image that illustrates very well what is happening. Areas with grass that are more or less in good condition coexist with others where only dirt remains. And all this dotted with bushes that have dried up. Brown and green are truffled, disfiguring a place that is widely used all year round, especially in summer. This example is repeated in other landscaped public places. Also in many parterres of streets and squares. Only those that receive water from the ground or that are next to trees, which are irrigated, show signs of life.
The Generalitat only allows the use of drinking water for survival irrigation of trees and shrubs. Further on, Jiménez details, "if you are connected to the groundwater network, this is also used for grass." For the rest of the places, he continues, "we have seven cisterns of this last type of water that are used for cleaning the streets at night."
The persistence of the drought has forced Parcs i Jardins to give up the planned plantings this autumn. The flower plants are renewed twice a year, in May and November, with a reinforcement in September. As a result of the drought decree, the operation for the next two months has been suspended. For trees there are two periods, from October to March in most species and from April to June in warm climates and palms. In this case, all are prohibited except those of copies that are already in stock.
Before the drought restrictions were decreed, 20% of the irrigation of public garden spaces in Barcelona was done with groundwater. It was about 0.5 cubic hectometres per year (500 million liters). Now this value has grown a bit, up to 0.7 or 0.8 cubic hectometres per year (700 or 800 million liters). In parallel, the use of potable resources has been reduced by 60%. Thus, globally, global water savings are between 55 and 60%, in line with the forecasts made in March of 57%.
The key is, on the one hand, to use less water and, on the other, to use more and more extracted from the subsoil, not from the general network. Regarding the first, Parcs i Jardins has been applying a program for years to prioritize more resistant species, which require less irrigation, and which are capable of lasting a long time without being soaked. Also grass. "We changed it a long time ago, we no longer have English meadow grass," says the manager of this body responsible for the city's green areas. In the new projects grass is put, a type of grass based on grasses that is harder and less expensive to maintain. In many points, the latest rains have made it regrowth despite weeks that it seemed dry, impossible to recover. In situations like this, other modalities die.
In order not to have to use tankers or tank trucks that go from one place to another, as is done with street cleaning and which allows 100% of the water to be groundwater, connections are needed with the pumping, storage and distribution infrastructures of the water coming from the ground. “These facilities cannot be had from one day to the next –recalls Jiménez-, large urbanization works are often used to build them, such as those carried out in 2004 at the Fòrum and Diagonal Mar, in Sant Martí; On the other hand, in other districts such as Les Corts, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Sants-Montjuïc or Horta-Guinardó there are few”.
Parallel to these changes, the use made of grass areas is key. Jiménez puts the aforementioned Glòries and Ciutadella as opposite examples. In the square, the area known as Gran Clariana, a meadow designed not only to be beautiful but also for citizen enjoyment, a new model has been put into practice. It can be stepped on, but with limitations. Balls are prohibited (many games or sports damage the grass) or enter with dogs because they are great predators when digging holes. "We are promoting a quiet use -explains the manager of Parcs i Jardins-, so that people can lie down, rest, read, tai chi sessions, yoga... This helps us keep this space in good condition".
A very different case is that of Ciutadella, which receives seven million visitors each year and supports a very intense activity of all kinds. "Management in this area is difficult, the lawns tend to be very deteriorated," says Jiménez. The appearance that this park offers these days is very uneven. The lack of green seems to be due more to this uncontrolled use and even a lack of maintenance in some points than to the drought.
