Reserves in reservoirs dropped yesterday, for the first time, from the 20% border, and have stood at 19%. This was announced in a press conference by the director of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), Samuel Reyes. If we add to this worrying figure - as the Government spokeswoman, Patrícia Plaja, said after yesterday's Executive Council - that there are no forecasts of enough precipitation to turn the situation around, everything converges in a scenario of future restrictions. Plaja put it this way: "Many towns will enter an emergency phase in the coming weeks". Consequently, he predicted an "extremely worrying" scenario.
At the moment, yesterday there were 23 more municipalities, from the headwaters of the Llobregat river, which went from the alert phase to exceptionality. This phase represents the scenario prior to the emergency. They are municipalities in the counties of Berguedà, Solsonès and Ripollès, with a combined population of 15,323 inhabitants: Bagà, Borredà, Capolat, Castell de l'Areny, Castellar de n'Hug, Castellar del Riu, Cercs, Fígols, Gisclareny, Gombrèn, Gósol, Guardiola del Berguedà, Guixers, la Coma i la Pedra, Nou del Berguedà, Pobla de Lillet, les Llosses, Saldes, Sant Jaume de Frontanyà, Sant Julià de Cerdanyola, Sant Llorenç de Morunys, Vallcebre and Vilada.
Reyes emphasized that the rain episode of October 19 and 20 was completely insufficient. And he set an example. At the head of the Muga river, which supplies the Darnius-Boadella swamp, "not a single drop fell". He pointed out that in the internal basins of the Muga, Ter and Llobregat "there is a rainfall deficit of 30% every year".
Because of all this, he explained that he saw it as "inevitable" that he does not enter an emergency phase this year due to a situation he defined as "critical". Depending on the water that may fall and the savings that are made, he understands that this scenario could take place in December, as had already been announced, or it could be brought forward to the end of November.
The Interdepartmental Drought Commission (meeting yesterday) also discussed the declaration of a state of emergency (red traffic light) for Vallirana (Baix Llobregat), with 23,004 inhabitants, at the request of the City Council itself. Given that this locality is governed by the rainfall indicator, the decision was made following the low level of its underground reserves. The municipality is not connected to any supra-municipal supply network and the project is being drafted to incorporate it into the Ter Llobregat network to increase the supply guarantee.
The rest of the units of the Catalan internal basins will continue in the same situation, so that, when the information in the DOGC is updated, two areas will be in a normal situation, two in alert, eleven in exceptional and three in emergency.
The severe and long drought that has affected the internal basins of Catalonia since the end of 2020 is making it necessary to mobilize new water resources, including those that until now had not been considered suitable for drinking water, as is the case of Besòs river With the aim of increasing the availability of water, the ACA has put out to tender the drafting of the basic project for the construction of two water purification plants in the final stretch of the Besòs, specifically in the area of the river at the height Montcada and Reixac and between Barcelona, Santa Coloma de Gramanet and Sant Adrià del Besòs, in the areas of Mas Rampinyo and Bon Pastor, respectively.
The ACA has already started drilling two wells and three research soundings in the final section of the Besòs river. This action is being developed in the municipal terms of Montcada i Reixac and Santa Coloma de Gramenet with the aim of having new water catchments in the current context of pluviometric drought, which has already accumulated for 36 months, as the director recalled of the ACA yesterday.
The Meteorological Service of Catalonia has updated the rain forecast for the coming weeks. Weather variability is expected until the end of the week, with the passage of several frontal systems starting today, which will bring strong westerly winds. There will not be much precipitation in general, or not much (from 5 to 20 mm) in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, although in high altitudes of the western Pyrenees it may be locally abundant (between 20 and 50 mm).
A few frontal systems may still circulate next week, but without significant rainfall, and there will be little accumulation (up to 5mm) overall. The long-term weather model indicates that November precipitation will remain below the climate average.
