Catalonia declares an emergency due to drought in 239 municipalities, also the areas of Barcelona and Girona

MAP | Check the restrictions and alert level municipality by municipality

BARCELONA, 1 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

A total of 239 municipalities in Catalonia are already in emergency after this Thursday the Generalitat announced the declaration of the state of emergency in the Ter-Llobregat system, which affects 202 municipalities that were in pre-emergency and which are added to another 37 that they already had it declared, with limitations on water consumption.

After this Thursday's announcement, all the provinces of Catalonia have municipalities that are in a state of emergency due to drought: in Barcelona there are 163 localities, in Girona 63, in Lleida 11 and in Tarragona 2.

Of the 239 municipalities that will be in an emergency scenario, 202 are from the Ter-Llobregat system, 22 from the Fluvià-Muga aquifer, 12 from the Darnius-Boadella reservoir (Girona), 2 from Riudecanyes (Tarragona), and Vallirana which depends of the Anoia-Gaià unit (Barcelona) and which unilaterally asked to enter an emergency due to the lack of water reserves.

Instead, the unit of the Tarragona Water Consortium (CAT) goes from the alert scenario to the pre-alert one, by improving the state of the Mequinenza reservoir, located in Zaragoza; and the Generalitat has informed that the rest of the units remain unchanged.

The limitations on water consumption in a state of emergency - 200 liters per inhabitant and day per municipality - include domestic consumption, economic activities, health centers and municipal uses, among others.

Regarding the consumption that should be made at home, the plan recommends that it be around 90 liters per inhabitant per day.

In the emergency scenario, measures are planned to improve water use, such as the suppression of agricultural irrigation by 80% - survival irrigation may be authorized but with regenerated or groundwater water -; the reduction of water for livestock uses by 50%; a 25% reduction in water consumption by industrial users; or the reduction of water consumption in recreational uses.

In these cases, the provisions can be complemented with regenerated water from a wastewater treatment plant, at the expense of the user, "as long as there is availability of flows", and you can choose to propose to the Agència Catalana de l'aigua ( ACA) a savings plan.

The rest of the limitations include the prohibition of irrigation of trees and botanical gardens, except for survival and with regenerated or groundwater water; The filling of swimming pools and the use of showers in gyms and sports centers are also limited, and the use of showers and foot cleaning facilities on beaches, among others, is prohibited.