Rain in Spain ends €169m pipeline plan

Spain today scrapped an emergency plan to pipe water to Barcelona after recent heavy rains eased the severe drought that was affecting the city.

Deputy premier Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said the decision to halt the £135m (€169m) pipeline came after official reports confirmed reservoir levels in Barcelona have risen above emergency levels.

The pipe was intended to feed water into the Catalan capital’s system from the Ebro River to the south-west until a desalination plant is completed next May.

Reservoirs supplying Barcelona are at more than half their capacity, twice their level at the end of March.