Drought emergency in Barcelona region: How long will residents accept water restrictions? | DW News

Authorities in northeastern Spain have declared a drought emergency for the city of Barcelona and the surrounding area. Some six million people will face tight restrictions on their use of water as a three-year dry period shows no sign of abating.
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[@lucasjames7524]

How are there are already multiple comments asking or implying that the church was initially built underwater? Wtf? A reservoir was built which flooded the valley containing the church, and now the reservoir has gone so low that the ruins of the church are reappearing.

[@busysaru888]

It was build b merpeople, of course!

[@freespiritable]

In Albania, to build a hydroelectric plant, the communist government flooded an entire city. If there isn't enough precipitation and the level falls, the old city appears.

[@CarFreeSegnitz]

Brings new meaning to the Holy Sea.

[@dxd42]

People wants to deny the obvious. No metter what.

[@notabene2403]

Thank you for explaining! I would be lost without you!

[@faraboverubieskerry]

Can someone explain why they are restricting livestock water usage by 50%, agriculture water use by 80% but water parks and recreational facilities by only 25%? Why would they risk their local food supply more than the local swimming pool or water park?!

[@markuss4133]

Because it is a tiny dent. There are not a lot of water parks. You got to see it in relation

[@merzto]

Because that food gets exported.

[@user-fm6ns5nb4j]

Because swimming pools might be seen to put off tourists, and they can't have that!

[@animalswin2105]

Because riots are the objectives

[@MarcelaElviraTimis]

Because swimming pools likely have water recirculation systems, while many farmers tend to waste a lot of water

[@Tom-sg4iv]

They forgot to mention 25% of the water is lost by leaks in the pipelines. 134 cubic hectometres in 2022.

[@tibsyy895]

In Switzerland there is no snow either! At high mountain resorts it's 8 Celsius in January! 1500-1700 above see level! Insane!

[@raulikalervo]

Our friend lives in Zurich , an older lady.

[@nikkucharski4851]

Same in Canada

[@gorishokgo5825]

Swizz can buy snow , you are the money laundering center of planet 😂😂😂 pay to Canada they will send you some snow lol

[@malaj7519]

Same in spain, this ski season is a mess

[@nikkucharski4851]

@@gorishokgo5825 no snow here as well :(

[@andi56837ykvk]

I was living in Cape Town when we had the major drought measures in 2018. Cape Town has multiple sources of water for the damns, and yet it went down to 29%, but was considered barely useable. We were months away from a complete cut off, with the government promising to cut off the water supply completely, when everyone got together to drastically cut down their water usage. While the drought was experienced across South Africa, it was Cape Town’s government that took the proactive approach. You could see boards on the highways advising you to save water. Bathrooms in public spaces shut the majority of the taps, leaving only 2 open taps. The government ran major communication campaigns. One of the main ones “if the yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown flush it down”. When washing the dishes, we used 2 buckets - one to wash and one to rinse the dishes. Initially we couldn’t water our garden, fill the pool, or wash our cars, but as the drought progressed, these were prohibited. When we went on holiday to Port Elizabeth, during that time, there was no advertising or communication messaging in public places, and you could see the impact of the drought. It’s crucial to respond to a drought proactively and with haste, getting everyone in the city/country on board. The government, placed in this situation, can’t afford to delay to introduce drastic measures and they must be prepared to increase those measures if the water usage isn’t reduced enough. While Cape Town has received rain fall since 2018, it remains in a drought status, as we don’t get enough rainfall anymore.

[@rm_alfaro]

Does Cape Town suffer from power cuts as well like in other parts of South Africa?

[@andi56837ykvk]

Yes sadly power cuts are experienced nation-wide. I didn’t realise that desalination plants were power intensive. I remember SA we’re building a desalination plant a few years ago but it fell apart. Everyone assumed it was due to corruption (and it’s likely a big contributor) but if it’s power-hungry, SA isn’t ready to do that just yet.

[@rm_alfaro]

@@andi56837ykvk Ok, thanks for the update! I was just curious because I know someone from Cape Town and I heard about SA power shortage.

[@andi56837ykvk]

@@rm_alfaroFair enough and no problem. My husband and I both still have family and friends living in various parts of South Africa. Sadly the power problems are nation-wide and it doesn’t like look it will improve any time in the near future (but it might continue to get worse). That said South Africans are finding ways to sort out their power, whenever and wherever possible. They still end up paying for the government-provided power plus the private services which actually provides them with power. This happens with water services as well, sadly.

[@jdrancho1864]

@@andi56837ykvk It IS a corruption problem if power plants can't produce electricity because coal supplies are being diverted.

[@vitormv]

If only scientists had warned us with decades in advance, we could have prepared!

[@jollyjokress3852]

They didn't. They kept it all for themselves within their cyptic language.

[@ericaworthington2675]

I hope this is sarcasm. The first scientific studies on climate change were over 100 years ago.

[@superresistant8041]

instead they announced the ice age and the end of Internet

[@blanckieification]

if only people understood that the climate on earth changes since it was formed. The only thing one can do is to accept it. The only thing constant in the universe is change

[@teddybearroosevelt1847]

@@blanckieificationyou’re partly right. It did indeed during the Pleistocene, but then during the Holocene the climate stabilized which allowed several species including humans to evolve. Too bad we’ve eliminated that foundation now upon which everything we have and now depends

[@basmca1]

Meanwhile The Netherlands had the wettest year in history in 2023. Januari is the first month since september that we had less than 200% of the already high average amount of rain.

[@IanMossManchester]

similar in the uk..somewhere south of paris seemed kinda neutral

[@Paaaa32]

Let’s share some water😢

[@spektrumB]

I can remember that were maybe 4 to 5 days that was not raining from October to the end of December last year.

[@basmca1]

@@spektrumB There was some variation, in the place where i live we only had 2 peroids where it was truely 24hr's without rain between oktober 7th and januari 12th.

[@kasperpaisa4245]

But still the warmest year ever in The Netherlands.

[@stefanadamek367]

This is scary, like really scary.

[@knuown]

JESUS is coming soon! These are all signs of His return to earth. Don't be afraid, as long as you have JESUS is your life. The war called Armageddon in the Bible will start with two nations going to war over water rights and it will erupt into a full blown world war. Read the Bible and turn your heart to JESUS dear friend. Nothing can stop climate change or reverse it - it is G-Ds wrath on mankind, the Bible teaches - you can't fight against G-D Almighty and win, no one can, ever. It is man's foolishness to think that climate change can be stopped or reversed, it is impossible - the politicians and corporations worldwide are fooling themselves and others. Use what is available in nature wisely (conservation), but once it's gone, that's it. Maybe a desalination plant could help Catalonia, like they use in the rich middle Eastern countries (GCC). Please read the Bible and turn to JESUS, this will take away all your fears. When you have the perfect love of G-D in your life, it casts out all your fears, the Bible teaches.

[@paulgifis1908]

Why? Rain went to California, It didn't just disappear.

[@jesus2621]

Lets see if money paper can be eated, poor greedy humanity

[@FranciscoGonzalez-xf3xd]

Tired to hear that desalinazion is to energy intense, in Spain we could have free energy from the sun.....it is so simple. In Germany people use more solar energy that in Spain... it is ridiculous

[@clownworld3913]

They're not interested in doing anything productive, everything is focused on reducing your quality of life as much as possible.

[@SonnyDarvishzadeh]

True. I live in Freiburg and have a travel solar panel in my balcony to charge small devices, even during winter. Some people have installed large panels in front of their balcony with permanent fixures. And these are just hobby styles, let alone many buildings having roof panels.

[@t.d.5804]

Desalination has a lot of salt brine which when gets back into the sea kills everything. Here in Germany our drinking water is better than bottled water, like Evian. No one cares and we flush our toilets with Evian and wash our cars with that precious stuff. People will only understand its value when its gone. We have a water problem here in Germany too, gets worse each year. Stop burning fossil stuff. I do 75% of all electricity with PV on my roof here at 52°N, it works. No gas car, no gas heaters

[@mithim99]

@@clownworld3913 Thats called capitalism

[@AP-yx1mm]

Desalinization can be dangerous if they dump the rests which is mostly highly concentrated salt water... If there was a possibility to get salt from it so at least it doesn't get dumped

[@user-fm6ns5nb4j]

It's not just Catalonia - as the reporter mentioned, Andalusia is also suffering. Several towns to the East of Malaga have their water turned off overnight as the local reservoir is down to 7.5% of capacity September last year - I presume the images of the person showering at the beach is stock footage as here those showers were the first to go. The overall level in Malaga province is also low - tourists in Torremolinos and further West of Malaga were already starting to notice the issue last September as the initial cuts started to bite. This year the Costa del Sol is likely to have major difficulties. And the sad thing is that it is regional government incompetence that caused the problem - about 2005 they pretty much stopped regulating farmers water use so lots of unlicensed wells were sunk draining the aquifers. The Guardia Civil do nothing to enforce the regulations unless a politician makes an issue of it, or someone issues a denuncia - nobody in the countryside issues a denuncia because they're all related to each other. And politicians value the agricultural vote so they were too gutless to do anything. Measures to increase supply were started but not finished. When the provincial government finally started to address the problems 18 months ago (bear in mind the water levels in the local reservoir have been declining year on year for at least a decade) the combined cost of several of the small steps taken to complete projects already started but left half finished was less than €500K. The president of the Junta announced in May (during an election campaign) that he would make a decision on the location of a new desalination plant in Velez-Malaga by the end of June - seven months later and still no decision. And then after that it will be several years to actually build it of course.

[@nikkucharski4851]

Farming takes 50% of available water in every country. Here in Canada the politicians are sloowly realizing that this will be a huge issue.

[@dhbehk5339]

Not only Andalucia, Extremadura, Murcia, Valencian Community, Castilla La Mancha, they are all suffering from lack of water. The difference is that all these regions have better policies to regulate water consumption and not waste. Catalonia does not have them. Their policy is based on demanding, having and abusing. And when they have problems, cry as if they were the only ones who have them. This is how they want to become an independent country.

[@user-fm6ns5nb4j]

@@dhbehk5339 The problem here in Andalusia is that they have laws and policies to regulate water use but they simply haven't enforced them until there is a crisis. Where I live, when they finally checked 70% of wells drilled by farmers were unlicensed. There are houses here that can only be accessed by driving along dry riverbeds. Your description of Catalonia could equally be applied to the South of Spain, and I suspect in other regions too. Vox doesn't really believe in climate change, and the PP won't do anything that interferes with their donors making money. Added to that the fact that, since Franco, no Spanish politician seems willing to enforce a policy issued by the next level of government above, and you have a recipe for chaos. Look at Mar Menor and Donana - local and provincial government have done as little as possible to stop the vandalism of local farmers who seem not to care that what they are doing is destroying their local environment, despite the Spanish government and EU remonstrating with them.

[@anasnejme]

Morocco as well , one of the worst years !!

[@anselmo4952]

The droughts in Spain are commons; Franco ordered to built thousands of dams for this reason and is amazing to see that now our goverment is demolising thousands of dams for suposed ecological reasons.

[@IvarDaigon]

200L a day per person is not a serious effort. Most of Southern Australia has had a target of 155L a day for more than 15 years now and the people adjusted without much effort. People just need to learn a live sustainably and stop wasting so many resources. I typically use less than 75L a day and that is for my entire house (including garden).

[@MrToradragon]

Or, as Spain has quite good access to sea, they just need to build more desalination plants and then use treated waste water for irrigation.

[@markuss4133]

75 litres a day. So you dont bathe. Do you even shower? Flush the Toilette? Living alone i guess.

[@merzto]

​@@markuss4133with water efficient devices and taps it's doable

[@Martina_Reiki_healinghands]

We spend 35 l daily, including laundry. We live off grid and water is like a gold, we are aware of price of drinking water. It's a miracle, just a few people know. 💙💧🌊

[@federicolopezbervejillo7995]

I agree. I live in Uruguay, we have plenty of water, and it's quite cheap. Even so, muy family of three consume less than 150 liters per day per cápita.

[@busysaru888]

Prepare for when the rains DO come by building the infrastructure to catch and slowly release rainfall and runoff. Permaculture is one way. Another is building berms and swales (ditches) on contour and directing the water into ponds, etc. Many ways to do this. Ice suptas can also be used to build up glaciers at higher altitudes. But of course going solar, using heat pumps and better insulation help as well. They we have to stop all the methane leaks at oil/gas sites and further reduce carbon use. Building up bike infrastructure using Dutch design would also help.

[@masterchuck8772]

That's the problem, it doesn't rain. Hopefully in Easter we'll see some drops, but it will evaporate as soon as they hit the ground. On the other hand those golf courses.... what's the point? So a few rich men can have a hobby whilst everyone else suffer

[@MegaTheblueone]

@@masterchuck8772 here in northern germany it didn't rain enough for like 5 years and in autumn/winter 2023 it rained alot. Rivers reached record heights and flooded alot of houses. So never say never

[@pingdingdongpong]

What a surprise. I wish someone told us about global warming earlier. 🙄

[@mrx0088]

Well, seeing what happens in the rest of Europe, and the rest of the Mediterranean in particular, we could call it local warming

[@imtheeastgermanguy5431]

​@@mrx0088it's NOT local it's a global event, in other areas there are a similar extreme events

[@mrx0088]

@@imtheeastgermanguy5431I have been following the European weather maps for a few months, and hence my comment

[@pingdingdongpong]

@@mrx0088I see, basically every climate scientist is telling us that the Mediterranean basin is getting warmer. It is in fact warming 20% faster than the rest of the world. Its temperature has already increased 1.4 Celsius. But you have been following the weather in Europe for a few months. That should settle it 🙄

[@zamilahamedtahsan6863]

I'm worried this year, the summer is going be even more unbearable 😢

[@kasperpaisa4245]

This year? The future is going to be more unbearable

[@KletoReese]

Yes! Absolutely

[@patrikricci8423]

Just take a ride through all of southern Iberic coast…Every hotel has a well filled pool,golf resorts have lush green acres and villas have rich tropical front yards…But taxpayer citizens have to collect bottled water like in 3rd world country

[@user-fm6ns5nb4j]

And yet politicians on the Costa del Sol are happy to announce the opening of a new hotel, and brag about the new airline routes from foreign countries that have started, or that they are hoping to encourage. The water consumption of the Costa del Sol doubles in July and August because of the tourists. During Covid local politicians were talking about the need to rebalance the local economy away from tourism - it seems they've forgotten about that already, and returned to the Spanish political belief that there is no problem, political, economic or environmental that can't be solved by a new hotel!

[@susanaescriba977]

Exacto 👍

[@ThePapawhisky]

That’s rough. I feel for them. When it comes to water conservation, it is not the showers. It is raising beef. And irrigating for water intensive crops.

[@teddybearroosevelt1847]

You’ll soon feel for yourself

[@francis5518]

I'm very surprised they didn't mention the role of El Niño, it dries Europe.

[@anselmo4952]

Because It spoils the Climate Change narrative.

[@NinjaOrchids]

I am surprised as to why a desert can have golf courses but huge cities in Spain have not accommodated for eventualities with desalination plants. This problem was discussed in the late ,90s during the 6 year drought in S'ern Spain

[@Nemrai]

Because that's costly, not neccessarily efficient, and create a huge problem with the salts and other stuff left over.

[@dawn21stcentury]

The sick part is that we continue to take vacations there; wasting even more water. I just biked by this ad at a bus stop;: 599 Euros for 8 days in Curacao (flight+hotel) - I live in the Netherlands - Our insane tourism should stop.

[@user-gc5gk5yb8g]

You cannot impose restrictions only when water reserves run dry. You have to implement changes and continue with them in definitely. So much water is wasted on a daily basis and so we should determine was is the maximum level that households NEED to use.

[@freddieventura4382]

Catalonia has always voted against the creation of a Unified Water Management Bureaugh in Spain in order to tackle these situations, as they arent normally the ones worse off regarding to water availability. Now they have a tough year , and the Spanish goverment is planing sending ships over with water, water that they negated to the rest of Spain for years. Yes, the Spanish goverment is currently held on power thanks to the asymetry of votes of the Voting system, that gives Catalan pro-indepenent parties way more power in the Parliament. I am in favour of giving Catalonia the water they need, but also need to do steps to create that Iberian bureaugh (also with Portugal). But pro-independentist parties got such a terrible agenda. God save them from that cancer, seriously

[@GreenIsTheWayForward]

Amen

[@user-hq6hb2xv4n]

3/4 of Spain has no water problem whatsoever. In Madrid, for example, this Autumn/Winter has been very wet and the reservoirs(there is a network of huge reservoirs around Madrid)are full at 65-70%, we have water for many years even if it didn't rain anymore. Let alone the Atlantic coast (Spain's Atlantic coast is actually longer than the Mediterranean coast) and surrounding areas which are fed up with so much rain this year. The problem is just on the Mediterranean coast and even there it is not so bad in most cities thanks to the desalting facilites. The problem is Barcelona which is extremely bad managed politically.

[@antifazisbonifaz6964]

Ayuso even recognices climate change? As a right wing populist i don't think she would recognice this. She is too worried wishing people goes to tardeo bars and terraces even during a pandemic. Don't worry problems will also arrive to Madrid. Then we will see how Ayuso manages

[@mariamorales4986]

We have a draught , but its not true that we cannot even flush the toilet.

[@kylesmith8128]

200 Liters per DAY???? lol are they just throwing it on the ground? There's your problem right there....

[@anubizz3]

Just look at how people use water over there that what suffering on europe looks like .

[@eltiowarren]

In the US they use an average of 380 liters/person

[@Abyss-Will]

That's actually not a lot, you shower for 5 minutes and that's already 100L, use the toilet 6 times and that's another 100. Water the grass and there you have 200 more, drinking, washing hands, dishes and clothes, cooking and you can easily reach 500 liters without even thinking about it.

[@jorgecristo4746]

In 2008 was the same situation and we had the same problem! Politicians decided as nowadays invest millions of Euros on water infraestructures. But in May-June 2008 was a very rainy months and the drought emergency was over. The politicians in Catalonia have been waiting more than 15 years to prevent these problems now and we are suffering the consequences now 😡

[@tufsoft1]

The rain in Spain fell mainly on the plain.

[@JustNam66]

If only we can share the rain we have here in Northern Ireland.

[@antifazisbonifaz6964]

Nice people there in both Irelands. We love you here in Spain. You are vere akin to us 👍👍🤗🤗

[@paulsmith4996]

Very serious situation in Catalunya and this is the future for most of Spain I am afraid. I live in Madrid, and I expect 45°C for most of the summer. We collectively need to adopt several measures. 1) Reduce personal water consumption through more effective metering 2) Reduce agricultural consumption through intelligent irrigation and crop choice 3) Massive investment in desalination powered by renewables If we don't plan and implement now, by 2050, tourism and agriculture will be finished.

[@lluhu]

Most water is used in agriculture.

[@anselmo4952]

You forgot in the proposed measures , to stop of demolising dams.

[@antifazisbonifaz6964]

And din't forget reforestation and conservation of still existing forests. We need plenty of healthy trees and shrubds to atract the rain

[@antifazisbonifaz6964]

​@@anselmo4952old unusable damns. The total capacity (of storage water by damns) is increasing. Old dangerous dams. It's called renovation of infraestructure. The same people who denies climate change are who are orquestrating this falsehoid campaing

[@hansmoser989]

make water, not wars. the spanish armada, built in the middle-ages by "high intelligent rulers", costs spain over two half of their woods that time. it was never realy reforested. and if i hear someone saying: "there´s no man-made climate change", iam feeling a bit nausea about so much stupudity. h.m.

[@tibsyy895]

And this is happening in the end of January?! Nice!

[@steveuni90]

My first thought :/

[@divx1001]

And it's the worst drought in years in that region... In freaking February. Pretty scary stuff.

[@chrishoo2]

Let’s talk about the golf courses.

[@andreaerling7614]

I live in Northern Spain on the Costa Brava. There is definitely a shortage of rain. Ps. Interestingly , 108 dams have been destroyed in Spain in the last 2 years. Just for the record.

[@nomeimporta1327]

im sure you have an official list of destroyed dams

[@susanaescriba977]

@@nomeimporta1327 Eso te molestaría?

[@nuria.l-l-9827]

​@@nomeimporta1327sure there are, the records for Spain and for europe

[@nomeimporta1327]

@@nuria.l-l-9827 si Nuria, en tu cabeza

[@KingBardylis]

Why destroy dams for?

[@pabloliamcavanagh5984]

No one mentioned land use change, which is probably just as bad as heatwaves for the water supply. If not more. Where is the green structure?

[@shubhankartripathi1143]

Intersesting information and extreme effort

[@honestguy7764]

they spent all their resources trying to severe themselves from Spain, poisoning their relationship with others parts of the country….. No help or solidarity expected

[@bigj3367]

and there are still people that say climate change isnt real... they live in a dream world

[@nuria.l-l-9827]

It is called geoingeniering, planed and executed to control through fear. Right out of the manual... 😁

[@simonpannett8810]

North East corner os Spain is prone to dry years from a rain shadow in the area. So many tourists do not help!!

[@vicrattlehead2514]

Catalonia is not Spain, it's Africa, now also from a climatic point of view.

[@Go2Results]

Ik CapeTown 50 liters per person per day was allowed… only flush when it’s brown and shower for 2 min

[@alifc1082]

Why - 80 for agroculture and only 25 for recreation activities?? What kind of priorities do we have? Also more control. Screaming all day doesn't do much if measures are not taken... Like last summer and overall all the out the year. Here we are in the last hour and recreation activities are a priority?? Water parks will open?? 🤯

[@OldScientist]

This is weather not global climate change.

[@bwillow]

how feasible are desalination and pumping water inland in the future?

[@marcinhibner9507]

You can create glass with metal industrial type water condensation traps or drill deep for water.

[@user-ib1sq4ns5w]

Its not like water plops up just because of drilling deeper

[@claudiberenguersabate2675]

As we approach summer things are not going to worsen, but to improve. In western Mediterranean spring and fall are the wet seasons, summer and winter the dry ones. The point is if it is going to rain enough to enter the summer having reached a normal situation, that is with enough reserves to go through a dry season.

[@antifazisbonifaz6964]

Fall infinitely more than spring. When the Mediterranean sea is many times overheated then we reap or could reap the big DANAS or as we said time ago "gotas frías" (cold drops) Betting in that all will be resolved without work by our part is wrong. People must turn his minds and evolve to be ecological green minded people if not fuckery will have no end

[@dbSurfer]

Why are there so few solar panels in Spain?

[@lowwastehighmelanin]

I had heard there's severe drought in Europe but this is really scary 😳

[@mrx0088]

That's no true. Only in some small areas. The rest is extraordinarily wet and cold.

[@dangallego9983]

Could you change the title? We’re not talking about Barcelona, we’re talking about Catalonia that’s the region that has passed de emergency law

[@Devilishlybenevolent]

How common is it to see deliveries like 1:00? First time I've seen such a big container and a man standing up on the scooter/bike type vehicle lol

[@w.d.g.]

Your headline/thumbnail is worded in a way which doesn't help the population understand the problem. "How long can Barcelona live without water." is correct.

[@sukhkaur9440]

It's not even summer yet.

[@nbd9619]

Strange that the main problem that lies under your nose you don't notice. Take any apartment building in Spain. We open the hot water tap in the kitchen and start the stopwatch. In some cases, we wait for hot water for more than a minute. Multiply that by the number of apartments in the building. Add a shower. Hundreds of liters of water are drained while waiting for hot water. Only in one building. Add the increasing tourist traffic. What are we talking about, people? No one and nothing will help you.

[@AL5520]

The time it take to hot water to arrive depends on the length of the pipes and it's not the same all over Spain. The heater should be close to the bathroom as this is the most important place to use hot water. In the kitchen you can use cold water, or, at least, start using the cold water and after a short while you'll have hot water. As someone that grew up with limited water resources you learn to save. Don leave the water running, open the tap only when you need it. In most cases the short programs in the washing machine are more than enough. You won;t be cleaner from long showers and baths, a few minutes is all you need (and turn off the tap when you use the soap and shampoo). I'm used to it and do it automatically and now all of you will have to start doing it. Apart from this it's a shame they've waited so long for the solutions. There is is one desalination plant but they should have constructed more. Unlike what they said desalination has improved and it's not that expensive (where I'm from 1 cubic meter less than €0.40) and if they'll accelerate the move to renewable energy, which in Spain is currently almost 50%. They should also increase the amount of reclaimed water. Spain does a good job but it should be much higher. Reclaimed water can be used in agriculture, industries and recreation and, together with declination for potable water can resolve this problem. The focus should be on the main emitters of greenhouse gases that are responsible for climate change, which is energy and transport.

[@svenlabots1869]

I used to live in Catalonia for 11 years (2003-2014) and witnessed severe droughts quite a few times. It's really serious over there, while my little Belgium gets flooded over and over again. I makes you think of climate injustice...

[@markturner7459]

There's a lot to be said for a water grid..

[@davidgual93]

Putting restrictions on citizens (either in their homes, in the public spaces, or in their businesses) as the main line of defense against challenges like this one is a massive government failure. The lack of infrastructure that was guaranteed to be needed despite the decades-long awareness of the issue shows a level of incompetence on the politicians' side that is extremely hard to describe. When all countries need to do is copy Israel on water management and France on nuclear energy because both the technologies and the real-life examples have been running for so many decades, it is hard to imagine it is all due to natural mediocrity-induced incompetence and not that the powers that be enjoy witnessing the breeding of misery.

[@solangeportalescoy3094]

And to think that Cuba usually gets enough rain but because of the calamitous state of the infrastructure, water is wasted at every point of the way, leaving citizens to carry water long distances and making huge lines to get water from tank trucks. I feel for the father having to carry water in this video, but now imagine that on top of that he had to stand in line under the scorching sun for hours, not knowing for sure if the truck is coming or when. It's not my intention to minimize the emergency in Catalonia. I was just saddened by the contrast between the two situations, one of them being completely avoidable.

[@---nt5mb]

Much like energy but perhaps even worse, our attitude towards water became increasingly wasteful throughout the 1900‘s. Desalination plants are bandaids not solutions ( and still today expensive ones). You can‘t just water the coasts and leave the centre of Spain to become desert, which is what is currently happening. Spain is one of Europes most important fruit baskets. A lot of interesting projects are being done all over the world on water conservation, from regreening deserts to technology reducing the use of industrial water and systems cleaning and recirculating water for the tourist industry. Forests have been removed en mass from Europe centuries ago for ship building. Forests maintain water on land and encourage rainfall and now with climate change the problem has become acute. Farming in Spain has to change away from relying on ground water and learn how to improve soil and retain water on land, see Australia for example, swales, berms, ponds, cover crops to prevent soil erosion, growing weeds to keep the soil covered and build up humus and plant native hardy trees and plants everywhere. Farmers cant do this on their own, nor can they be blamed for past governments agricultural policies, they need educational and financial support that can only come for governments. Technology must also be supported and regulation to enforce the use of water saving technologies as they become available and financially viable.

[@GreenIsTheWayForward]

100% agree

[@eksodass]

I propose a trans-continental water Pipeline. Many places have floods while others droughts. Bulk purify and send to regions of need like we do with oil.

[@bingo737]

I was thinking about that actually. Here in the Balkans, the Danube water could be transported to Greece and Turkey via pipelines. So could water from french rivers to Spain.

[@eksodass]

@@bingo737 Brillant! I also propose security measures around this pipelines to ensure Nord Sream 2 does not repeat itself, mass poisoning and the like.

[@root_pierre]

When this happened in Cape Town South Africa the world was shocked. New normal

[@meskita106]

Don’t think ppl really feel it until it implies them

[@charlessmyth]

Like in Italy, no one bothers to clear out the river beds of built up sediments, so that when the rain does arrive, the countryside isn't flooded. Anyway . . . Does Carles Puigdemont have an answer ??

[@Mooninites]

Italy is more preoccupied with restoring fascism

[@charlessmyth]

@@Mooninites Same for the US that is on a glide path to becoming a failed state, via the Republicans who are determined to burn the village, to save the village :-)

[@monomakes]

Great that it's actually raining here today!

[@spinachtriangle]

Restricting livestock use by 50% and agriculture by 80% makes no sense. Animals need feed which comes from agriculture. Time to move to a more sustainable way of farming probably looking at less animal and dairy in the Spanish diet. They already have such good plant based dishes.

[@Marquec]

The Catalan independentists opposed the transfer (National Hydrological Plan) proposed by President Azanar, believing that they would have water forever, and the rest of Spain would have to endure it on their own. Subsequently, they used their monetary resources to sell for world their separatist process (from the rest of Spain), now in scarcity and without appropriate water infrastructure they resort to the solidarity of the rest of Spain, probably also at no cost to them (Sánchez needs your votes)

[@rubengonzalez2911]

Yep in Barcelona we're preparing to literally ship water from other desalination plants across Spain

[@Mooninites]

I feel for spain, California was in a similar situation but the drought thankfully is gone here

[@ericaworthington2675]

For now.

[@Jc-ms5vv]

Now swimming

[@NondoPondo]

Why not use atmospheric water generator? This technology has become very energy efficient.

[@davidrabbit2239]

This was predicted many years ago that southern Europe will become like North Africa

[@watcher5729]

Reverse osmosis also SOLAR powered means fir desalination can and are implemented.the just acknowledged that anothher AI access and controle seams to be crucial.........

[@portugalgamermanel3404]

So close to the sea... take advantage of salt water... even tonight we got rain in Lisbon. thank god... wishing the best for Barcelona and Spain. Hug from Portugal s2

[@anselmo4952]

They are gobernated by fanatic separatist ocupied exclusively in the promotion of a secesion war and in to stole all the money wich there Will be in their reach.

[@bingo737]

It is staggering that this has been going on for three years now. A couple of miles away in France, the situation is probably completely normal. Climate is so confusing and scary.

[@dawn21stcentury]

Well, not really, Southern France is also really dry and had the same restrictions last year.

[@spektrumB]

What if Europe builds some sort of canal networks to link up large part of Europe? That are parts of Europe that have excessive amount of rain fall, while others are in drought? Like the electricity network we already have. I know it's going to be expensive. However given the increasing problem of climate change. I think it should be considered for long term benefits.

[@GreenIsTheWayForward]

I was thinking the exact same thing! Here in the Netherlands we just had the wettest year since at least the year 1901. We could definitely share some of that 'wealth'.

[@sfigatto_0167]

@@GreenIsTheWayForward is just the Mediterranean coast of Spain, other regions have more than enough water. As example, Galicia, north west Spain has got more rain than netherlands this year

[@jdrancho1864]

And yet, nobody wants to talk about water recycling, eeyeew.

[@amandawhite9362]

So what is precious water food and oxygen,right

[@samfisher2959]

I hope Barcelona fans not to say that the drought is because the VAR or the grass.

[@uptonmanor]

Plants depend on C02. Those autopista plants thrive on it.

[@mariamorales4986]

We have a normal access to water at home 😓 it would be nice that journalist from dw inform saying the truth

[@Dendarang]

Always a great sign when you have a drought in February in the northern hemisphere.

[@TomTom-cm2oq]

How wonderful for humanity that this is happening. Believe me this will spur innovation like CRAZY! Just imagine someone comes up with a way to harness ALL the energy wasted at a muscle gym, and use it to desalinate water? Or if people at home ride a stationary bicycle for an hour to get healthy along with desalinate the 3 liters of water they drink every day! For humanity’s sake, I’m doing a dry dance as we speak.

[@user-bo1ux2pv1l]

I think they could plant more green plants, increase the green cover ground’s rate.

[@CM-ey7nq]

AI to manage water. What could go wrong...

[@tekannon7803]

I am going to give what I think is what could allow Barcelona and reservoirs in Catalonia to be re-supplied. I am an artist and an inventor. My idea is not new: aqueducts were used by the Romans. My idea for our time is to put piping---underground aqueducts---under roads and railway tracks and give transportation systems a duel purpose. Water is abundant in some regions of Spain and Europe and it could be sent via underground aqueducts to cities like Barcelona which is experiencing a 3-year-old drought. Of course, it's probably going to be very expensive to begin re-puposing our infrastructure, but we must think of a future with more and more extreme weather conditions. What we see now in the present is that our climate is not something we can count on to have enough water for people in regions where there is severe drought. The jet streams have been altered according to climate scientists and this is why there are these ultra-dry conditions. Piping under roads and railway systems as aqueducts is doable.

[@GreenIsTheWayForward]

I was thinking the exact same thing! Here in the Netherlands we just had the wettest year since at least the year 1901. We could definitely share some of that 'wealth'.

[@tekannon7803]

@@GreenIsTheWayForward GGGGGGGGGGreat to hear from you. I have sent this idea to places around the world from Australia to India to the Governor of California. I think water circulating under the roads could also be used to 'cool down' cities like Athens, Greece where the ashphalt melts in summer in the cities and becomes an oven at night. It doesn't rain any more, it's more like water bombs where a whole year of rain falls in hours. This water could be sent straight away to reservoirs and drought-stricken regions.

[@pereinarolsson3928]

Is this real fact? I was working at the Canary Islands as a tour guide where the hotel manager was complaining about the drought - and his toilets and taps where dripping water and not fixing them. This is an attitude I have seen in many places and reacting as a Swede - fix it - no it is not broken yet....

[@nuria.l-l-9827]

Not really. I live in Barcelona and there are no restrictions yet. Maybe in July. Now I think they have started in a few very small places. That's it. And we'll see how Long it last. This news is what it is call "asusta viejas", fabricated to spread fear.

[@anna-lenameijer9942]

Correct. 1 drop/second makes 30.000 liters of water in a year/30 m3

[@widescreen8964]

What are they planning to eat?

[@johnreynolds5407]

Weather conditions change over time.

[@Shaddarhim]

Seems like we need waterpipelines in the future.

[@fzakrzewski]

And people have been laughing when California was sounding an alarm about those droughts... this is a new normal now, and will get worse

[@matrixberzins465]

2024 Drinking water terminals will be completed and will start working in Latvia - from which ships will be filled with drinking water in ports and exported to countries where it is in demand. Drinking water in Latvia is obtained from underground sources. The first such terminal will be in the city of Liepāja - the terminal will be able to absorb up to 60,000 cubic meters of water from underground sources. But as far as we have heard, countries outside the European Union have already applied for this water - such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other Asian countries that are in dire need of fresh water. Latvia plans to build another such terminal in another city (Ventspils), but the project there is still only at the planning stage and it is not expected to be built in the next two years.

[@Marco-cq5mx]

2:35 he can’t flush the toilet… situation is dramatic. Mass media conforting reaction with a big laugh…. This is toxic way to deal with news. And again 4:07 so hilarious….

[@tiwowo1234]

I feel sorry for wildlife!!

[@GKP999]

All of us need to use all resources, natural and human-made consciously.

[@Oso420]

Any they still won't talk about all the cloud seeding going on..

[@abdullahhakan1]

No tap water means 3rd world country situations with minimum 2500 euro net wages as worker. İt is much better to settle in Helsinki Finland and it's villages, small towns. Take long vacations in Svalbard Ramada hotels in Norway.

[@davebalmada]

And then the farmers have the NERVE to protest pollution reducing measures from the European Parliament! Now we'll have to live with the consequences.

[@ThalanorThornhale]

Does the area around Barcelona have areas that naturally gets fog? If yes, creating a climate appropriate forrest around those areas could help over the long-term. The reason: Trees act as natural "water batteries" that can absorb and help store water in the plant itself, its root system, and the surrounding ground when it rains or fogs. If done from strategic points and in larger enough numbers, trees can change the micro climate to the positive. The reverse is also true. Removing trees removes water storage. Yes, this will take decades if not hundreds of years, but keep in mind, we (humans) had no problems with cutting down all those trees a few hundred years ago either. The Mediterranean was actually a lot more forrested back then.

[@ericliu5491]

Why can’t they use cloud seeding?

[@GreenIsTheWayForward]

Well you need clouds

[@ericliu5491]

@@GreenIsTheWayForward Are there no clouds in Spain right now?

[@heww3960]

Good that they are using desalination plants, but they dont seem to use it enough. Desalination plants is the future, can not rely on a delicate system that fresh water is, when we have the whole earth full of water that we hardly use.

[@raindancer3330]

This is terrible. Ciao Guapos!🙏🙏🙏🌧🌨🌨🌨

[@martinkubos9787]

Better start diverting rivers from alps instead poring fresh waters to sea

[@cartestgroupoy2441]

So if you manage to heat soil from underneath with forest fires it's price to pay I suppose

[@MistyMountainMedia]

The rain and snow is not coming back, we are long past this point. We will have to dug deeper and use sea water eventually.

[@anna-lenameijer9942]

Yes they are, if you plant new trees.

[@cayesuomi]

I cannot understand why this is news when it actually has been happening in other regions of Spain for a long time Literally at the moment, the regions that are way worse than Catalonia are: Andalucia, Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha, C.Valenciana and Cantabria. However only then it happens to Catalona is news for DW?

[@EdMcF1]

Are the Catalans refusing to accept 'Spanish' water?