Barcelona reactivates the water in its ornamental fountains

BarcelonaThis 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.

This Tuesday it's the turn of all the fountains along the city center, that is, those on Passeig de Gràcia, Plaça de Catalunya, Gran Via, and the Jardinets de Gràcia, which will start flowing again starting at 12 noon, just as the Ciutadella waterfall did.

Municipal workers have been working since the beginning of the month to inspect, clean, and fill the fountains. The fountains that are in operation starting today will follow the general operating hours, from 12 to 2 p.m. and from 5 to 9 p.m., except for the fountains in the city center and some emblematic gardens, which will follow the summer operating hours and be open from 12 to 10 p.m.

Barcelona currently has a total of 330 ornamental fountains, only 85 of which (25.7%) were able to avoid restrictions during the drought period because they are what the city council considers to be refuges for life (biota, flora, or fauna) and were therefore exempt. The remaining 245 fountains (74.2%) were shut down and will now resume their decorative function.

From now until June, the seventy fountains with a surface area of less than 40 m² will be progressively opened. Those that have remained full, such as the Industrial Spain Lake, the Pegaso Lake, and the Creueta del Coll Lake, will also be emptied and cleaned.

Between June and October, seventy more decorative fountains, measuring between 40 and 100 m², will be prepared and opened.². In this phase, the waterfalls and the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc will be restored, although the latter will have to wait until the end of September, for the Fiestas de la Mercè, as explained by Mayor Jaume Collboni. The reason, according to the City Council, is that this facility, one of the most touristic in Barcelona, ​​​​will also be renovated, with improvements to the control, sound, and lighting systems, which will make it more sustainable.

Finally, the last group is the largest fountains. The 72 that exceed 100 m² They will have to wait between October and the first half of next year due to the technical complexity of restoring them. There are also 19 fountains that will remain closed because they are affected by construction work or are pending improvements.

The total amount allocated to restoring these ornamental fountains is more than 2 million euros.