Living without even a drop of drinking water flowing from the tap. Bottled or bottled water for drinking, cooking and even cleaning dishes. The most feared scenario of the worst drought that has affected Catalonia in a century has come true in two towns in Priorat, with 200 residents each: Vilella Baixa and Bisbal de Falset. The nightmare began at the end of August.
The springs and wells are almost dry due to the lack of rain, and the reservoir of Margalef (Priorat), which had guaranteed drinking water since it was inaugurated in 1994, is so low that the poor flow is not not drinkable Margalef, la Figuera and Cabacés also drank from the swamp, but in their case they have their own resources to, at least so far, get out of the way.
The water that comes out of the tap in the houses or businesses of Vilella Baixa, the municipality in the most critical situation, is murky; it becomes very visible if it is collected in a bucket. "And there are days it stinks of fish", comments an elderly neighbor. To shower and wash. And thank you
An annoying and distressing scenario, with the neighbors looking to the sky and the Generalitat and the affected councils who have been looking for emergency solutions for more than two months. "We feel abandoned, if this happened in a more populated area, an alternative would already have been found", criticizes Enric Sabaté, owner of a century-old business, maker of artisan sausages (Cal Centro), in Vilella Baixa; it is also a bar and shop. Every week they use 500 liters of drinking water, which they now have to bring in tankers.
Pessimism, malaise and a bit of resignation can be felt in this beautiful town, known as the New York of the Priory. With an aging population, residents live as best they can from day to day. The City Council distributes bottled water weekly, eight liters per person, a measure that is only a relief.
Business takes the worst part. At the Ca l'Artur restaurant they are desperate. “If I could, I would close; I'm thinking about it", explains Arturo Bordalàs, the owner. "We have to wash everything with bottled water, we can't even use the dishwasher," he adds.
For the wineries, in a land of wines like the Priorat, it is also a problem. Drinking water is needed to clean the tubs. "We clean them with bottles of water", explains Sergi Siuraneta, from the Illusionistes winery, in Vilella Baixa.
The Catalan Water Agency (ACA) has been looking for a solution since September, together with the affected municipalities. The arrival of tankers was initially ruled out for technical reasons. Now, on the table is bringing water from La Palma d'Ebre (Ribera d'Ebre) using a connection with the Margalef reservoir. A complementary work is missing.
A solution that Samuel Reyes, director of the ACA, took for granted a few days ago during a visit to Tarragona. Marta Camp, the mayor of Vilella Baixa, prefers not to make assessments as long as nothing is closed. "We continue to distribute bottled water", he says. The mayor suffers like few others from the lack of water for drinking and cooking. "We hope to find a solution with the ACA and Climate Action, because the situation will be very difficult to sustain", he said a month ago.
In the Bisbal de Falset they learned on Saturday that the water from one of the wells is drinkable again, analysis in hand. Happiness. "We spent these two months as best we could. After the summer, consumption fell and the well has recovered a little", confirms the mayor, Òscar Vidal. "What forecast do we have now? Wait for it to rain".
"We demand the attention of the higher administrations, we deserve it", emphasizes Sergi Méndez, president of the Priorat regional council, who explains that he has indeed felt "accompanied" by the Catalan Government. They work with the municipalities of the region, we are in permanent contact with the ACA, to look for urgent and also medium-term solutions. "A lot of work is being done, but technically the solution is not as fast as we had thought", he admits.
Paradoxes of the drought, the lack of water in the Priorat has erupted in the Margalef swamp, under the jurisdiction of the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation (CHE), when all the focus has always been on the Siurana reservoir, also below minimums.
"In Priorat we have three reservoirs, but we suffer from seven. The solution is to look for alternatives and change the water policy", concludes Méndez, mayor of Ulldemolins. On the horizon, a regional water pact in a Priory unaccustomed to living in precariousness.
