Barcelona imports drinking water in record drought

SPAIN’S worst drought in decades has forced the city of Barcelona to begin shipping in drinking water in an unprecedented effort to avoid restrictions before the holiday season.

A ship carrying 5 million gallons of water from nearby Tarragona docked in Barcelona yesterday morning with a second vessel from Marseille, France, scheduled to arrive in the coming days.

The city is among the areas hardest hit by the worst springtime drought in the country since records began 60 years ago. With reservoirs at dramatically low levels and no substantial rainfall in sight, regional authorities are hoping to hang on until a desalination plant is completed in May next year.

The regional government of Catalonia, of which Barcelona is the capital, said six ships a month will bring in 438m gallons of water. That is roughly enough to satisfy 6% of the monthly needs of its region’s 5.5m inhabitants. The shipments will last at least three months.

Catalonia’s reservoirs are at a fifth of capacity. Authorities fear they could drop to 15%, a level at which it is no longer recommended water be used for human consumption.