There are two main demands of the Government on the municipalities during the current phase of the drought: one, that they draw up emergency plans to combat it, and two, that they adhere to – that they do not exceed – the water allocations for all established uses for each scenario (250 liters per person per day on alert and 230 liters during the current phase of exceptionality).
A total of 64 municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants are required to submit emergency plans against the drought. Only the three municipalities outside the river basins under the jurisdiction of the Generalitat are exempt from this requirement (since there are 67 municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants in Catalonia). Smaller municipalities can do this, but on a voluntary basis.
They had until June 2020 to present these emergency plans (according to what had been established in the special drought plan of January 2020). However, so far only less than half (27) have approved it. Nine have not been presented. They are: Calafell, Cerdanyola, Cornellà, Esparreguera, Figueres, Molins de Rei, Ripollet, Valls and Viladecans.
And eleven more have obtained an unfavorable assessment from the Catalan Water Agency of the document presented. They are: Cambrils, Castellar, Manlleu, Mollet, Olesa, Rubí, Salou, Salt, Sant Joan Despí, Tarragona and Vila-seca.
In the emergency plans, the councils must define the specific measures they would apply in each case (use limitations for various sectors), depending on the drought scenarios (pre-alert, alert, exceptional and emergency). In addition, they must guarantee that they comply with the maximum allocations established in the Generalitat's special plan. A total of 27 municipalities have drawn up their emergency plan and obtained a favorable evaluation. They are: Barcelona, Barberà del Vallès, Blanes, Castelldefels, Girona, Granollers, l'Hospitalet, Igualada, Manlleu, Masnou, Mataró, Montcada, Olot, Palafrugell, Pineda, el Prat de Llobregat, Premià, Reus, Sabadell, Sant Cugat, Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Sant Vicenç dels Horts, Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Sitges, Terrassa, Vic and Vilassar. The rest (up to the aforementioned 64 municipalities) are in the process of being drawn up.
On the other hand, around 200 municipalities exceed the maximum allocation established, 25% of the total. The fines for these breaches for councils, included in the decree law (of February 28) validated by the Government, range between 10,000 and 150,000 euros, depending on the severity or the repetition.
