Catalonia is experiencing its worst drought in a century. The regional government announced on Thursday that it would install a floating desalination plant in the port of Barcelona.
The city now excludes resorting to resupply by boat. This new equipment, which should be operational in October, will produce around 14 cubic hectometers of water per year (14 billion liters), or 6% of the water consumed in Barcelona and its metropolitan area. This floating plant will initially be installed for a period of five years. The Catalan government hopes that the desalinated units, the construction of which it recently announced, will be ready by this date and will be able to take over. The authorities then left the door open to the use of tankers to supply Barcelona with water. A solution now excluded. The Spanish government has declared a state of drought emergency for nearly six million people. This resulted in new restrictions, particularly for the agriculture, livestock, and industry sectors. It is now forbidden to fill swimming pools, except with seawater. Watering green spaces is done sparingly and using recycled water from the sewers.