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 in the face of the intense drought plaguing the region. The city now excludes resorting to resupply by boat.
The use of a “floating desalination plant is a more economical, more environmentally sustainable solution” and which allows better “security of supply”, justified the person responsible for climate action within the Catalan government, David Mascort, during a press conference in Barcelona.
New water restrictions
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, said David Mascort.
After more than three years of below-normal rainfall, Catalan authorities in February declared a state of drought emergency for nearly six million people, mainly in Barcelona and its metropolitan area. This resulted in new restrictions, particularly for the agriculture, livestock and industry sectors.
Even for a simple upgrade, it is now forbidden to fill swimming pools, except with sea water. Watering of green spaces is done sparingly and using recycled water from the sewers. Among the restrictions imposed by the region, manufacturers are supposed to restrict their consumption by 25% and farmers by 80%.
The authorities then left the door open to the use of tankers to supply Barcelona with water. A solution now excluded. “The quantity of water that we will obtain” thanks to the floating plant “is much greater (…) than that which we would obtain with boats, but it is also much cheaper”, justified David Mascort.
This floating plant will initially be installed for a period of five years. The Catalan government hopes that the desalination units, the construction of which it recently announced, will be ready by this date and will be able to take over.
The installation of 12 mobile desalination stations
According to David Mascort, 12 mobile desalination stations will also be installed in the coming months in the sector most affected by the drought, namely the north-east of Catalonia where the very touristy Costa Brava is located.
Concerned by the decline in water reserves, the Catalan government announced this week that it would establish for the first time in certain municipalities a maximum consumption threshold for tourist accommodation, equivalent to the average consumption of residents.
The region's reservoirs, which store water for use in drier months, have seen their levels rise recently thanks to rains but are only at 18% of capacity.