Standing in a field full of apple trees in Catalonia, fruit and grain farmer Ramón Falguera looks worried.
Last year, fruit harvests in this region of northeastern Spain fell by nearly a third and wheat by half due to a lack of rain and restrictions on water use.
Water channel used for irrigation farmlandThe river, which originates from the Pyrenees Mountains, opened for just a month last spring for the first time since it was built 160 years ago.
drought It is thought to be the worst in 200 years and is hitting large parts of the region after more than three years of low rainfall and record temperatures due to climate change.
Farmers like Falguera worry that the water they use for their seemingly endless irrigation will be cut off again.
How are farmers affected by Spain’s water restrictions?
When reservoir levels in some parts of the region fell below 16 percent in early February, the government issued a statement. state of emergency In many regions of Catalonia.
The head of the regional government, Pere Aragonès, announced restrictions on many different sectors. The amount of water available to the agricultural sector, the largest water consumer, to irrigate crops has decreased by up to 80 percent.
For Falguera, a lack of rainfall and local water restrictions will likely mean two irrigations this year instead of eight.
This was already critical for irrigation farmers in some parts of Catalonia, according to David Saurí, geographer and water management expert at the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona.
For the third year in some parts of the region, many farmers have not been able to adequately irrigate their crops. This had negative effects on entire communities. Saurí calls it a “disaster”.
In March, Aragonés relaxed some of the measures initially imposed on the agricultural and livestock industries following pressure from these sectors.
‘Bad guys’ and ‘good guys’ in water use
Although the agricultural sector accounts for only 3 percent of the region’s economy, many argue that it should be considered an essential sector. Instead, Saurí says, farmers in many parts of the region are “mistreated” by water scarcity, “while other economic sectors do not have these problems.”
This includes the tourism sector. Although filling the sector is prohibited swimming pools Aragonès, which has fresh water at hotels and campsites in many areas, rejected calls for further restrictions on the industry, such as banning cruise ships from docking in Barcelona’s port.
On March 20, 40 activists reportedly cut off the water to the Barcelona Tourism office, calling for more extreme restrictions on the sector.
According to Saurí, it is estimated that the average tourist in Barcelona consumes at least 60 percent more water compared to the average resident. But he readily acknowledges that tourism is not a monolithic entity.
“Tourism isn’t exactly what we’d call the ‘bad guy’ of the movie… but there are a lot of ‘bad guys’ and a lot of ‘good guys.’ “Not all tourism is the same,” says Saurí, explaining that people consume relatively less water at campsites than those staying in luxury hotels.
In agriculture he added: cattle farming There are also big interests and businesses.
The tourism sector is ambitious about desalination
According to Saurí, the tourism industry has been implementing water-saving methods for several years to reduce its bills. These include more efficient showers and toilets.
But in Lloret de Mar, one of Catalonia’s coastal tourism destinations, the local accommodation association is now going one step further.
Due to current restrictions hotels in Lloret purchase a mobile phone desalination A 1.5 million Euro machine was purchased to serve approximately 200 hotels.
“After removing the salt [from the seawater] We will fill the swimming pools of hotels,” says Enric Dotras, president of the association. He added that the machine can currently produce 50 cubic meters of water per hour, but this will be increased in the future if needed. It claims that it will produce sufficient amounts of water.
“We are a tourism destination… normally where tourists enjoy the facilities [in the hotels]”We have to keep that in mind if we want to sustain these businesses and the indirect and direct jobs that come with them.”
Why are desalination plants controversial?
Tourism represents more than 20 percent of Catalonia’s local economy.
One million tourists stayed in hotels in Catalonia in January alone, and more than 22,000 people worked in the hotels. This normally increases dramatically during the summer months, raising concerns that pressure on water resources is increasing.
According to Saurí, if it does not rain this summer, tourism in the region will suffer. But he warns that exclusive use of the desalination plant by the tourism industry could cause disappointment in other sectors that do not have the economic power to pay for the plant.
“[Farmers] “They are told not to irrigate because there is a drought, and they see a campground or a hotel nearby with a full swimming pool,” he says.
Greenpeace has also raised the alarm about the environmental impact of desalination plants.
A recent Accenture report found that facilities increase energy use by up to 23 times compared to conventional water sources. He pointed out the significant risks to marine life caused by the disposal of salt water, which is the residue left after desalination.
“It could kill all the marine vegetation,” says Saurí, adding that it needs to be managed really well.
What are the alternatives to Spanish water?
Despite these environmental risks, many in the agricultural industry see desalination as one of the few ways to provide enough water to ensure the viability of industries.
The Catalan government announced last year that it would invest around €500 million in EU funds in desalination plants, but it will take years to see any positive impact.
Many people believe that the area’s water systems also need to be updated. In 2022, Catalonia lost a quarter of its water due to leaks, according to the region’s water management agency, Agència Catalana de l’Aigua.
Pol Dunyó Ruhí, a small organic farmer in the province of Barcelona, says water reuse and other alternatives should be introduced to improve water management.
“I think the restrictions are ridiculous and really unequal,” he says, but adds that some farmers are using wasteful irrigation techniques when they could be using more efficient methods.
“I don’t know if it’s because farmers refuse or because there’s no support for such installations… but it’s nonsense,” he says.
Also pointing out that restrictions should be applied with an ecological approach, farmers Planting large fields of corn, a high-water-intensive crop produced to feed industrial chickens and pigs, is treated no differently than those that use water more prudently.
For Falguera, more modern irrigation systems are also an important way to reduce water consumption. This includes dripping irrigation: Delivery of water directly to plants through a network of tubes or pipes.
“With modernized irrigation systems, we can manage the water we have this year really well,” he says. He adds that for a fruit tree irrigated using a modernized irrigation system, four irrigations would be sufficient. “Water is not wasted.”
Saurí notes that it is important to ensure that farmers do not have to abandon cultivation. “I honestly don’t know what will happen if it doesn’t rain this summer,” he says.