Can reservoirs drop to 20.69% of its average capacity in the internal basins of Catalonia? This is what happened in the 2008 drought. And only the return of rain (like those of recent weekends) can prevent it. Right now the situation is worrying: the swamps are at the 22.52% of its maximum volume. However, it is true that September, October and November They tend to be rainy months. Therefore, episodes like the one expected this Wednesday will become essential to alleviate this extreme scenario caused by the summer that is already approaching the end.
Last Friday was the rainiest day since March 12, 2022, more than a year earlier. They fell 120 liters in Ametlla de Mar (Baix Ebre) and more than 50 liters at various points along the coast. The rainfall was widespreadwhich served to leave the fire risk practically to zero.
In any case, in the mountains, where the headwaters of rivers like the Ter or the Llobregatwith several reservoirs along its course, the amounts of water They were not especially abundant.
Last Friday was the rainiest day since March 12, 2022, but the swamps are still at their limit
In some regions of the Pyrenees it rained less than 20 liters, and in Vall d’Aran, Even less. The highlight of Friday was the bulk of water collected in a short time, although there were no serious incidents. From the Servei Meteorològic de Catalunya (SMC) they assure that This is not an exceptional episode.just as it is not expected that it will be this Wednesday.
Waiting for Wednesday
The problem is that in the midst of a drought, every day like this is very important to reverse the current moment. This water is useful for strengthen aquifers and although it is not yet perceived in the data on the reservoirs provided by the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), it can end up contributing to these slowly recover.
Today, the state of the swamp is of concern. Sauto the 19% of its capacityand that of Susquedato the 23% approximately. These are the two reservoirs of the Ter River, which serve to supply populations in the regions of Girona but also part of the area of Barcelona, since the Ter-Llobregat connection transfers part of the water, less and less, to metropolitan areas. The Darnius-Boadella reservoir, on the Muga river (Alt Empordà), despite the rains, continues to decline and remains below the emergency threshold, although the emergency phase regarding restrictions has not been decreed.
If it did not rain in the coming weeks, both the Ter-Llobregat system (on which more than five million people depend) and other hydrographic units could activate the red traffic light. That is, entering the emergency phase, a state in which restrictions would increase.
Hope for the Segre
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But the reality is that those responsible for the ACA are pending the rains to take one or the other decision. In fact, although the reservoirs exceed the 2008 record and drop by 20.69%, this does not mean that a state of emergency should be declared, since the arrival of rain could alleviate the situation.
In fact, in the Ebro basins, the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation (CHE) predicts that the Segre basin, for example, will no longer be in emergency end of september, after 15 months, precisely because of the rains of recent weeks, which have had their effects on this basin. The reservoirs of Rialb and Oliana They are still in a weak state, but they have twice as much water as they stored a year ago. In the Bajo Ebro, for now, the emergency decreed by the CHE will continue.