BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The drought-hit Spanish region of Catalonia will install a floating desalination plant to help the city of Barcelona guarantee its drinking water supply, regional authorities said Thursday.
Barcelona is already relying on Europe’s largest domestic desalination plant to offset three years of below-average rainfall that have led to a historic drought worsened by climate change.
Now Spain’s second largest city will get a temporary second desalination plant in the port later this year.
David Mascort, head of the regional environmental authority, said the plant would come into operation in October. It will produce the equivalent of 6% of the city’s consumption, compared to almost a quarter of the city’s water now produced by Barcelona’s permanent desalination plant.
Barcelona uses desalination and water purification systems to meet its water needs. The reservoirs that serve 6 million people in central and northern Catalonia, including Barcelona, ​​are at 18% of their capacity.
Despite some relief from spring rains, Catalonia has maintained restrictions under the water emergency declared in February. Those restrictions include a daily limit of 200 liters (about 53 gallons) per person for domestic use, and a reduction in average water use by 80% for crop irrigation, 50% for livestock and 25% for industry.
Mascort said the additional drinking water should help prevent — or at least reduce — the need for stricter water restrictions in the fall. He added that the floating desalination plant will make it unnecessary to bring in additional water supplies by boat, as initially considered.
