Catalonia to end drought emergency, loosen water restrictions

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - The Catalan government announced on Tuesday that the region will lift its unprecedented state of emergency due to drought and loosen water limitations that have affected nearly 6 million people.

Abundant rains in northeastern Spain have replenished the region’s reservoirs, now 24% full, according to government data. That’s up from a low of 14% just over two months ago.

And just five days before a regional election, the Catalan government is thanking more than just weather patterns.

The regional environmental head David Mascot said in a press conference that the region could also alleviate the drought thanks to “surgical management” of the problem.

“We weren’t improvising, and if someone says we were, it’s because the government has never had to manage a drought of this magnitude,” Mascot added.

When Catalonia declared its first-ever drought emergency in February 2024, it began imposing water restrictions such as limiting individual consumption, filling of swimming pools, or watering green spaces.

But perhaps the biggest impact was seen in the agricultural sector, as many farmers had to cut water use by 80% for crops or 50% for livestock.

When farmers began drawn-out protests in Catalonia, one of their main gripes was the strict limit on water use.

Speaking to broadcaster Cadena Ser on Tuesday, Catalan President Pere Aragones said that if the government could relax restrictions, it would do so.

The regional government’s Climate Minister Mascot said that all restrictions would not end when the drought is officially lifted by law within the next week, but they would be loosened.

Mascot also said that his government has helped prepare Catalonia for future droughts with new infrastructure.

Last month, the Catalan government announced that it would install 13 floating desalination plants along the region’s coast to provide more freshwater resources.

“We are much better off now than we were a year ago,” Aragones said in his interview on Tuesday.

On Sunday, voters will go to the ballot box to elect a new leader of Catalonia.

The latest polls, published on Monday, suggested that Aragones and his party, the left-wing separatist ERC, will come in third place, surpassed by the Catalan Socialist Party and the conservative separatist party Junts.

However, with a highly fractured electorate, none of the parties are expected to receive a majority, so pacts will most likely be necessary. What is unclear is whether the pacts will be made between separatists versus non-separatists or left-wing parties versus right-wing parties.

Even if Aragones does not win re-election, he looks poised to hold a key to the region's future government.