Spain's drought-ridden region Catalonia is poised to impose water limitations on tourists during its dry season.
The Catalonian government says a cap of 100 litres (26 gallons) of water a day will be imposed on each tourist in hotels and will be enforced if domestic consumption is not reduced. This is when use exceeds limits for three consecutive months during the ongoing "drought emergency".
Barcelona is Spain's second-largest city and uses 160 litres of water per resident per day. This figure is well below the current 200 litres restriction, according to Catalonia's water agency. Despite tourism accounting for roughly 12% of Spain's economy, there is increasing pressure from water conservationist groups to limit tourist water usage during the drought.
In 2022, an average tourist in Barcelona used about 163 litres every day according to the city's hotel guild, with this figure rising to more than 240 litres in luxury hotels. These restrictions would not include water used to fill countless swimming pools in the area.
The Catalan government loosened restrictions that prohibited the filling of swimming pools with fresh water. Under the new measure, a privately-owned swimming pool can be refilled in a severe drought if authorities declare it a “climate refuge” open to residents seeking relief from the heat. The regional government also tweaked its drought limitations to allow private usage of facilities which remove salt in water, which hotel proprietors have long been requesting.
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Catalonia has taken the biggest hit from climate change-induced drought that is affecting parts of southern Spain. However, this year's rainy spring season provided some relief with reservoir levels in Barcelona and nearby regions going up from 15% to 18%.
Despite that, Catalonia maintains the water emergency declared in February to fight an unprecedentedly severe drought. These persistent restrictions include cutting down average water consumption by 80% for crop irrigation, halving it for livestock, and restricting industry to a conservative 25%.
The regional government also made modifications to its drought restrictions to allow for the private use of desalination installations, a move hotel owners have demanded.
The Mirror told days ago how Brits in Spain were furious after an upmarket resort favoured by the rich and famous cut off their water leaving them in "third world" conditions.
The upscale Sotogrande area in Costa del Sol has reportedly cut off water supply overnight, leaving tourists and expats without the essentials to shower, cook, or clean. Authorities in the region implemented an emergency water shut-off from 9pm to 7am starting Wednesday, citing a severe drought that has led to a critical shortage of water resources.
Brit Rob Brummer said they had been let down by authorities, with little communication around the shut-off. The 66-year-old told the BirminghamLive: "It came as a huge shock when we were only told of this the day before.
"The whole communication around this has failed completely. Sotogrande is all big villas and with five golf courses it uses a lot of water but I lived in the Middle East for eight years and we never had any problem with water supply. There is a big school here with thousands of kids who will need to wash and brush their teeth every morning. How can they do that?"
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