The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce has warned this Monday that a significant portion of the water infrastructure investments planned in response to the drought episode that affected Catalonia between 2021 and 2024 are delayed or, in some cases, stalled, including the Tordera and Foix desalination plants. Likewise, the business organization has warned that European regulations require administrations to invest more in water purification and regeneration, which may necessitate future increases in investments in this area.

The harsh images of a Catalonia dry for three and a half years due to lack of rainfall and high temperatures have been replaced by those of full reservoirs, which currently exceed 92% of their reserves. But the water crisis was a wake-up call: it is no longer possible to live solely dependent on whether it rains or not, but rather it is necessary to transform the facilities that manage and produce water, whether they already exist or still need to be built or launched.

On Thursday, the Llosa del Cavall reservoir presented an unusual sight: the dam began releasing water naturally through its spillway, creating a continuous waterfall of 2,000 liters per second from a height of 112 meters. This drop is equivalent to 80% of the height of the Sagrada Família or a thirty-story building. This spectacle, which lasted throughout the day, attracted local residents, who hadn't witnessed anything like it for eight years.

A consultant on irrigation issues and secretary of the Water Commission of the Official College of Agricultural Engineers of Catalonia, Ignasi Servià, from Lleida, has spent his entire career collaborating with administrations and irrigation communities on rural development projects. He considers raising awareness about proper water management in a climate crisis to be essential, a focus of his blog on the iAgua portal, where he has published nearly 500 articles.

With the progressive easing of drought restrictions and the arrival of the bathing season, which begins every year de facto Rather, coastal municipalities have had to decide whether to reinstate beach showers or opt for some type of restriction. Except for Sant Pere Pescador and Portbou, where beach showers and footbaths will remain closed this summer, most municipalities along the Girona coast have decided to once again offer these services to bathers, although in almost all cases the number of water points will be reduced and flow reducers will be added. The ultimate goal is to reduce consumption, in some cases by as much as half, and raise awareness among the population about responsible water use in the face of the threat of further extreme droughts due to climate change. Some municipalities, such as L'Escala, Llançà, and Sant Feliu de Guíxols, have not yet made a decision on a debated issue: finding a balance between public service and water conservation.

This marks the end of the drought restrictions that have been in place for two and a half years. This Tuesday morning, just before 9 a.m., City Hall workers reactivated the water in the Ciutadella Park waterfall. It was the first to flow again after the restrictions imposed in November 2022. Barcelona City Council plans to recover the water from all of the city's ornamental fountains., but it will do so in phases.

The six million people who live in the more than 200 municipalities that depend on the Ter and Llobregat reservoirs are no longer in a state of drought alert, but rather a pre-alert. It has rained so much that the restrictions have been lifted.

The generous spring rains have brought reservoirs to levels not seen in recent years. The country has spent nearly three years suffering from a severe drought, but in the last month, reserves have more than doubled and are now at 60% of capacity. This is because the rivers and streams that supply the headwaters of the inland basins have received more than 300 l/m² throughout March, and the outlook is optimistic because all the water from the spring thaw is still missing.

It will soon be a year since the Catalan elections that turned the political landscape on its head and, arguably, dealt the final blow to the Process. Pere Aragonès brought forward the elections due to the lack of support for approving the budget in Parliament. But this was not a resignation. The then president of the Generalitat believed—and had been encouraged to believe— that this could be the best time to call the country to the polls. The best moment for ERC, of course.

After three extreme years of water shortages, with limitations on domestic, industrial, and agricultural consumption, Catalonia is saying goodbye to its historic drought. The regional minister for Territory, Housing, and Ecological Transition, Silvia Paneque, stated this Saturday that the good state of the Catalan reservoirs, which have boosted their reserves in a matter of weeks thanks to recent episodes of rainfall, and the "good pace" of the works to gain water infrastructure allow the most populated areas of the country to be freed from usage restrictions.

Josep Lluís Armenter took over as head of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) in October, when reservoirs were at 28% of capacity and half the country was still subject to consumption restrictions. Now it's raining, and the reserves are at the best situation in the last three years and spring is expected to be bountiful.

March finally brought rain across the country. This is tremendous news, both for reservoirs and for forests and soils, which have suffered a lot in recent years. However, we must be cautious when talking about the end of the drought in Catalonia, because we are facing a long-distance race in which caution must come first.

Either one extreme or the other. This thing now called polarization, which used to be black or white. And in black and white, too. "If it rains too little, it's a drought; if it rains too much, it's a disaster," sang Raimon. Delays, lack of solidarity, and excessive negligence rain down. The only thing is for someone to drown, and it's always the one who steps in the mud. It rains good rain. Restrictions are eased. Minds relax. At least mine, which isn't very fond of deserts. But we want to hang out the laundry. The sheets and towels, at least. We don't need our face or our shirt in the sun, for that there's already a legion, an excess of nostalgic newborns who yearn for a past of constant restrictions, what they now, with the passing of the years, call freedom. They seem more foolish, but they've been quicker to steal the words. And they don't even need to speak. Violence is silent. Like fear. And everything has shit in it.

Wineries in the Cava designation of origin (DO) reduced their sales by 13.4% in 2024, to 218 million bottles, while they anxiously await the impact of the future 200% tariffs on European wine announced by US President Donald Trump.

The last few days of rain have been like "oil in a lamp." These are the words of Silvia Paneque, spokesperson and Minister of Territory, who announced this Tuesday the relaxation of water restrictions in ten of the 18 exploitation units established by the Sequera Plan. Thus, and with reserves in the internal basins At around 46.3%, the Alt Empordà—the area hardest hit by the drought—has emerged from the emergency phase: the Catalan government has decreed the Darnius-Boadella reservoir to be moved from emergency to alert, and the Fluvià-Muga aquifer to be moved from emergency to exceptional. Furthermore, the Riudecanyes reservoir in Tarragona will move from emergency to pre-alert.

Catalonia has finally left behind the historic drought that has dragged on for more than three years, a dry period that has been exceptional and unprecedented since records began. Reservoirs in the inland basins finally exceeded 80% capacity thanks to the extraordinary rainfall this spring, especially in March. But the recovery of these reserves has not kept pace with the recovery of the accumulated water deficit in forests and aquifers, which, according to experts, will hardly be able to reverse before the next drought hits. In fact, it is estimated that 28% of the trees in Catalan forests died during this long and agonizing drought, losses that cannot be recovered.

Around Christmas, the 800 inhabitants of the small town of Borrassà, near Figueres, received an alert from the City Council that forced them to change their habits completely from one day to the next: the tap water was no longer drinkable. They could no longer fill a glass at the sink at home to quench their thirst or use running water to cook. Two months later, the situation remains the same and the residents of this municipality in the high Empordà region have had to get used to regularly travelling by car to the supermarkets in Figueres to accumulate loads of jugs of bottled water to supply themselves.

Catalonia has already had a historic drought for more than three years and, with the climate crisis, these episodes will become longer and more extreme. All of this requires the promotion of new measures and solutions to guarantee drinking and irrigation water in the future and to avoid the disappearance of current vegetation. Although projects are already underway to further enhance desalination and water regeneration in the coming years, another element has recently been put on the table that could be a new ally against drought: fog.

Olive oil production will suffer a sharp drop this year in Catalonia. The causes of the reduction are the successive heat waves that have affected the country since April and the drought accumulated over the past two years.

The drought that has been affecting some central regions for more than twelve months is truly exceptional. The areas most affected by the lack of rain are the central coast, many parts of Vallès, Montseny and even the south of Osona and Moianès, areas that in some cases are usually among the wettest in Catalonia.