Ground zero of the drought in Spain: "We buy water to bathe the children"
Ground zero of the drought in Spain is in the north of Córdoba. In April, Sierra Bollera was the first reservoir to dry up one hundred percent and, half a year later, the forecast is that it will remain empty in the coming months. Since then, it is prohibited to drink tap water in the 28 municipalities of Los Pedroches and El Guadiato and some 72,000 residents must fill their jugs from tanker trucks or buy bottled water.. According to the New York Times, which published a report on the problem a few days ago, it is the image of the “future of Spain”: “Where the water arrives by truck, not by the tap.”.
The origin of the problem is the lack of foresight and water infrastructure. The La Colada reservoir has a much greater capacity, but it had not been connected to the municipalities until now. For years, the surrounding livestock farms were contaminating an unused swamp. And in April, when Sierra Bollera ran out of water, water had to be pumped in desperation. The patch lasted a few weeks: the Ministry of Health ended up declaring the water from this swamp unfit for human consumption, with higher organic carbon values..
As a consequence, these people from Córdoba have been living for months in a situation typical of another era, with queues to collect water.. “The situation borders on the dramatic,” criticizes Miguel Aparicio, president of the United for Water platform, created this summer to combat the problem.. Every day, several tanker trucks travel through the towns in the area, where residents come with containers to collect drinking water.. Spending on supply companies already amounts to three million euros, although the Provincial Council is obliged to provide this service as an alternative to pollution.. “Mothers buy bottles and bathe their children with mineral water, according to what a pediatrician recommends,” says Aparicio..
The mayors have announced mobilizations and the higher administrations intend to find a solution as soon as possible.. In fact, yesterday the Government of Andalusia authorized an investment of 11 million euros to solve the supply of those 28 municipalities.. The works, declared of priority interest for the community, will allow water to be conveyed from the La Colada reservoir, now contaminated, to be filtered in Sierra Boyera, where the treatment plant, which will reinforce its capacity, will make the contaminated water drinkable.. In any case, the work will take more than 15 months to be completed..
The announcement comes a few days after the mayors of the 28 towns in the north of Córdoba, of different political colors, announced a “period of mobilizations” to demand urgent investments. The councilors ask to go one step further and give “absolute priority” to the connection with another reservoir, Puente Nuevo, with the Sierra Boyera water treatment plant.. The reinforcement would be, as they point out, a “guarantee of supply”. However, the Hydrographic Confederation believes that it would be a very complicated operation, which is why lower cost actions have always been chosen..
The Andalusian Government assures that, with the investment approved by the Government Council, starting next year these neighbors will be able to begin to see “the light at the end of the tunnel.”. The Provincial Council also started this week its shock plan to clean the water in the reservoir, which will also be financed with money from the Government of Andalusia.. These works could be completed in six months and will offer a short-term solution.
The neighbors, however, distrust these advertisements and fear that, if it rains, they will be forgotten.. Although they occupy an important territory in the province of Cordoba, they have one of the lowest population densities in Andalusia and the feeling that their claims are not taken into account.. In fact, the connection between the two reservoirs announced by the Board should have ended more than a decade ago, when the project was forgotten due to the economic crisis.. “We do not have enough population to put pressure”, summary from the association.
From the platform they also demand that the region's treatment plants be reinforced to stop discharges into the swamp and make better use of water resources.. Even a transfer from Badajoz, although for now they are content with having a short-term solution. “The swamp is dry and will take at least two years to fill again. Even if the rains return, we carry the dry season and it must absorb a lot of water to start collecting,” Aparicio concludes.