The water submerges the old town of Sau again

* The authors are part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
15 June 2023 Thursday 16:50
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The water submerges the old town of Sau again

* The authors are part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia

The Sau reservoir has been on everyone's lips for months due to the extreme drought it has suffered, which led it to be below 10% of its capacity. But, now, the comments are focused on the opposite, its progressive growth, since it is already close to 30%.

These images in Las Fotos de los Lectores de La Vanguardia certify that, with the last spring rains, the landscape is being transformed again.

Graphic testimonials show how the Sau reservoir is filling up very fast. The old houses of the village are already submerged, while the water is already close to the walls of the old cemetery. In addition, he already gets to play in the church of Sant Romà.

The level of the swamp is still far from the 55% it was a year ago around these same dates, but it has been recovering at a good pace in recent days.

The reservoir, inaugurated in 1962, covered the town of Sant Romà de Sau, the remains of which, especially the church bell tower, became visible when the level of the dammed water was very low, so much so that it transformed the landscape.

In recent months we have moved from dry, barren land to carpets of green and wild flowers that, in spring, have taken over the place that was once owned by water.

But, with the latest rains, much of this rediscovered land is now beginning to be under water again. Even the fish are reconquering the reservoir.

Sau is part of a system of three swamps (along with those of Susqueda and Pasteral) that unites the counties of Osona, in the province of Barcelona, ​​and La Selva, in the province of Girona.

Another good sign of recovery of the Sau reservoir is that the water has returned to the meander of the Ter, once again surrounding the monastery of Sant Pere de Casserres.

After being completely dry in recent weeks due to the drought, the water level gradually rises with the spring rains also at this point in the reservoir.

The meander is a curve described by the course of a river, whose sinuosity is pronounced, as can be seen in the images. They form more easily in rivers on alluvial plains with very little slope.

Next to the Sau reservoir we find the viewpoint of the meander of the Ter, from which you can see Sant Pere de Casserres, an 11th century Romanesque monastery of the Benedictine order and which has an origin closely linked to women.

It is recorded that in the year 1006, the viscountess Ermetruit de Osona-Cardona, together with her daughter-in-law Engúncia, raised money for the foundation of the monastery that they wanted to convert into the family monastery.

The meander of the dry Ter was one of the images of the year associated with the phenomenon of drought. Now, the landscape is transformed again and the water recovers its place.