The people of Girona are able to swim again on the beaches of the Ter.

Salto / BescanóFor the first time in a century, Parisians can once again bathe in the Seine. The French capital took advantage of last year's Olympic Games to change residents' relationship with their river. In Bern, the river is a highway for people to let loose and go to the Swiss capital's large swimming pool area. This also happens, to a lesser extent, in the urban area of Girona, where from the Glory and the coronavirus has completely changed the relationship with the Ter.

Although the river had become a neglected and polluted space to flee from since the 1970s and 1980s, the sediments from the 2020 storm created a set of new beaches and pebbles that had not been seen for decades. Municipal lockdowns were the second ingredient that led the population to discover a relationship with the Ter that had been forgotten since the 1960s, when sewage and slurry discharges increased before the proliferation of treatment plants. Since the pandemic, after years of recovering a habitat that is part of the Natura 2000 Network, visits have not stopped increasing and have expanded upriver from Girona, as Teia Puigvert i Picart, director of the Ter Consortium, confirmed at the ARA. Not only in Salt and Bescanó, the most frequented areas, but also up to the Pasteral reservoir, through Bonmatí, Anglès, and Cellera de Ter. "The water quality is good because the reservoirs act as filters," he adds.

By law, bathing in the rivers of Catalonia is not prohibited, except in high mountain areas and some natural parks. However, unlike in Paris, everyone who decides to enter the Ter does so at their own risk and accepts the danger of unsupervised bathing. Along the entire route, there are only two designated bathing areas in the Sau reservoir, Puigvert points out, who then lists all the associated risks (see supplement). The increase in visitors, coupled with increased litter, the use of loudspeakers, and unleashed dogs, has led the Ter Consortium to implement new regulations on the uses of the riverbed. The new plan, currently in the public exhibition phase, regulates car access, controls capacity, and includes the new feature of implementing a force of officers with punitive powers to monitor visitors for uncivil behavior. "The river is not a beach," Puigvert warns. "We know people are here to stay, and it's good that they rediscover the natural environment close to home, but they must also respect it."

Speakers and hammocks

The cries of children splashing in the water mix with the reggaeton playing from various loudspeakers. We're on the Ter riverbed next to Pla dels Socs, in Salt, one of the most popular spots for locals on weekends. Hammocks are tied to trees, large coolers, chairs, tables, and even blankets on the ground. It's the perfect Sunday plan for María Lucía's family, set up on a dirt beach that Google dubs "the Honduran beach." "It's the easiest way to escape the heat, especially with the kids," she says, holding a baby by the water. The mix of cultures is a constant in Pla dels Socs, but what stands out especially on weekends is the intergenerational nature. Whole families enjoying a climate refuge right next to their homes, which they can reach on foot, by bike, or on a scooter.

The crowd recalls images from just under a century ago, despite the constant problems of incivility reported by the Consorci del Ter (Ter Consortium). Anna Hugas, born in 1940 on Carme Street, fondly remembers the summers when they would go to the Devesa area, to the picnic area at Puente de la Barca, to make rice "with the logs they found in the area." Or when she would take the little train to the Campdorà station, now defunct, to have a snack at the Font Picant del Congost—where the water no longer flows—where only the most daring would take the plunge. And the days when they would go up to swim at the Tres Rocas del Onyar, where the footbridge connecting Vila Roja with La Creueta is now located. "It was so much fun! Before, people had a good time with very little, now it's all about money. Then cars and the love of going to the beach started, and that was lost," he recalls. "The river was also very neglected for a long time."

Danger signs

Many of these recreational spaces have disappeared, while new ones have been created. One of the most popular is Pilastra, on the border between Salt and Bescanó, where the whitewater canoeing park is also located. Just before the rapids, there is a large, quiet, and very shady area that has become one of the most interesting areas for visitors. Even before the pandemic, in 2019, it was decided to restrict vehicle access. It is now possible to reach it on foot or by bicycle, as it passes through the Greenway. This is one of the busiest areas for the Emys Foundation's environmental information workers. For the past four years, a unit from the Generalitat (Catalan Government), with an agreement with the Girona Provincial Council, managed by this non-profit Riudarenes organization, oversees various water areas and zones that have become popular. In practice, it is managed by this non-profit organization. "Their task is primarily to raise awareness," explains Laia Carbonell, head of the foundation's public use area.

Two pairs comb the Salt and Bescanó area during the day, while two others focus on Bonmatí, Cellera de Ter, and Inglés. Inside a car, accompanied by loudspeakers, they ask that the music be silenced—"since a good part of the Ter River's course is protected"—that the trash be collected, and also, in some cases, that barbecue fires be extinguished. "What we're asking is for respectful use of the river," explains Carbonell. "Groups from other cultures approach the river differently, and a lot of education is needed." But the Ter Consortium has decided that, after four years of raising awareness, they must go a step further and create a corps of guards who can issue fines to create a deterrent effect at various locations. The new land use plan should be the first step toward greater regulation. But, unlike with the reservoirs, creating supervised bathing areas is not on the table.

And enable monitored spaces?

For Anna Ribas, professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Girona, regulating bathing areas in the Ter River in the urban area of Girona would be the best solution to the problems associated with the pandemic. In this regard, she invokes the 2000 European Water Framework Regulation, which encourages human use of these spaces. However, in practice, few municipalities consider it viable due to the responsibility it would entail. While there is no doubt about it on the beaches of the Costa Brava, with a large presence of foreign tourists, the small municipalities around the Ter River, from Pasteral, consider it would represent an additional problem in terms of security costs. Many already have a municipal swimming pool.

In the case of Salt, the vegetable garden area represents 50% of the municipality. Jordi Viñas, mayor of the municipality for the ERC party, points this out. He boasts about the work done since the 1980s, when "the vegetable gardens became a dumping ground," and about the restoration of paths and trails for both walking and cycling. But he limits the regulation of uses in the riverbed to "awareness," "control," and "fines." In fact, he explains that they have just incorporated a drone to facilitate the work of the municipal authorities. The creation of a bathing area in the Pla dels Socs, where a wooden platform commemorates the old boat crossing that used to lead to Sant Gregori, is not under consideration. In fact, at each beach there is a sign reminding people of the dangers of bathing in the river and that there is no surveillance.

Overflowing trash cans are the most common sight left by bathers after a weekend of intensive use. The Ter Consortium explains that cleaning the Salt and Bescanó area alone costs €8,000 a year, considering that both Salt and Bescanó have parallel maintenance contracts for the facilities. In their opinion, along the lines of the Emys Foundation, all containers should be removed so everyone can take their trash home. "Overcrowding and conflicts between users have increased," Puigvert explains. While the river used to be used occasionally for bathing, now groups come here for a good portion of the day. But there is a growing conviction that this trend is here to stay and spread, and that what is needed, above all, is regulation.