Written by Sergio Gonçalves and Joan Faus
LISBON/BARCELONA (Reuters) – Portugal’s transitional government will reduce the amount of water used to irrigate farmland and urban environments, including hotels, in the tourism-dependent southern Algarve region, where reservoirs are nearly empty due to severe drought. was ordered to be reduced.
Across the Iberian Peninsula, the region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain is experiencing its worst drought on record, with authorities in the greater Barcelona area announcing on Thursday they would reduce water pressure in some towns’ water systems.
Portugal’s Environment Minister Duarte Cordeiro said late Wednesday that agricultural irrigation in the region will have to be cut by an average of 25% from last year’s levels, but cuts could reach up to 50% around certain dam reservoirs where water flows are low. He said there is.
Consumers in urban areas, including golf courses and hotels, will face a 15% cut.
“The Algarve’s reservoirs are at their lowest level ever. If nothing is done to moderate consumption, there will be no water available for public supply by the end of 2024,” he said.
Reservoirs in mainland Portugal are on average 73% full, with some reservoirs in the north even full due to heavy rains, but in the Algarve region, the average storage rate is only 25%, with some as low as 8% to 15%. There are also low reservoirs. That’s compared to 45% a year ago, he said.
A 2022 study showed that climate change has already made the Iberian Peninsula its driest in 1,200 years.
Meanwhile, Catalan authorities this week warned that new emergency restrictions will be imposed on agricultural water use by up to 80% if reservoir levels across the region reach 16%. Currently, the reservoir is only 16.2% full.
Filling empty swimming pools, including those at tourist facilities, will be prohibited. For outdoor pools, clubs will be required to close all showers. Beach showers will also be closed.
Violating the restrictions will result in a fine of up to 3,000 euros in the Barcelona region.
In the southern region of Andalusia, authorities on Thursday said water restrictions would be in place by summer in large cities such as Seville, Cordoba and Malaga, unless significant rain falls by then. Water pressure is already dropping overnight in some towns.
(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Additional reporting by João Faus in Barcelona and Emma Pinedo in Madrid; Editing by Andrei Carip and Bernadette Baum)
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