Those hardest hit by the drought in Catalonia: "If you don't help us, we won't be able to continue living here"

The Generalitat, if nothing changes drastically, will declare a state of pre-emergency in the municipalities near the reservoirs of the internal basins of Catalonia, that is, the provinces of Barcelona and Girona.. This is a preliminary step that, according to the Catalan Executive, prepares Catalans for the worst. The director of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), Samuel Reyes, has defined it as “a preparatory state for the state of emergency that may enter very soon” and that, in this case, would entail water restrictions.. So far, 37 municipalities are on high alert due to lack of water.

In this last month, Aguas de Barcelona (Agbar) has already launched tests to lower the water pressure in homes and industries and has announced that the price of water is becoming more expensive in most of Catalonia.. The increase will be nothing more and nothing less than 33% and will take effect in 2024. It will be the city councils that decide to what extent this increase affects households or what part is assumed by the municipal budget..

The price increase will affect all households, but especially families living in rented rooms. According to data from Cáritas Catalonia, there are 3,700 homes of this type in the metropolitan area of Barcelona alone..

Fermina arrived from Peru at the end of last year and has since been forced to re-rent rooms. She, her husband and their six-month-old baby live in a room in an apartment in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona). The room has “a single bed and a half, but it doesn't even fit a crib for the baby, just a playpen,” explains Fermina.. Before this apartment, they already shared one in a similar way in Barcelona, only that it only fit a small bed.

According to Aigües Ter-Llobregat (ATL), the company that transports water from the rivers to the municipalities, the increase in household receipts could be one euro per person per month.. According to the company's figures, the increase will affect the water supplied to 90% of the population of Catalonia, including large cities such as Barcelona, Mataró and Terrassa..

ATL maintains that it has kept rates frozen since 2017 and that this increase is due to the cost of energy and the greater use of the two large Catalan desalination plants, located in El Prat de Llobregat and Blanes, to obtain drinking water and make up for the lack of water. in the swamps, which are at historic lows (below 19%).

The Minister of Climate Action, David Mascort, already warned last July in an interview with El Periódico that “the price of water will rise: if it is not paid with receipts, it will be done with taxes”. Four months later, this increase has materialized and it is now the responsibility of city councils to decide how it is reflected in household bills..

The deadline time

In “rental” apartments there are rules, not only between those who live together, but also with the owner of the apartment.. On the one hand, schedules and the distribution of tasks and space, on the other hand, the limitation of resources. “We have a schedule: after 6 p.m. you can't make noise or put on washing machines,” says Fermina.. “Now winter is coming, we need the clothes to be clean and dry, in summer they dried quickly, now we have to wait and there is not enough space for everyone, there are also shifts”.

From Cáritas, Sonia Lacalle comments that it is common for people who rent “to limit the possibility of showering whenever they want, sometimes they can even let them shower only once a week, there are many violations of rights.”.

People living in this situation are also being affected by rising prices and abuse by landlords.. “They have no justification, they tell them that the water goes up 70 euros and that they have to raise the rent. There is no security for people who live like this,” explains Lacalle..

Fermina confirms it: “They have told us that they are going to raise our rent because the electricity and water are going up, and because there are three of us, I am very worried,” and adds that they do not see the bills, so they cannot complain: “Yes “They don't help us, we won't be able to continue living here.”.

Public “laundries” are back

Faced with a situation that continues to worsen, various social entities demand the immediate approval of the bill to eradicate homelessness, which is currently being processed in the Parliament of Catalonia. According to Cáritas, the bill is key to addressing this situation and ensuring that new essential rights are created for those who live on the streets or in precarious conditions, such as access to a shower, a washing machine or transportation..

Cáritas estimates that there are about 18,000 homeless people in Catalonia, 80% more than in 2016. To address this problem, Cáritas has started a new initiative that involves offering the possibility of washing clothes to everyone..

For now, this initiative has been launched in the area of San Ildefonso, a neighborhood in Cornellá de Llobregat (Barcelona), where Cáritas has opened a public laundry for access to all those who need it.. Fermina, who comments that she cannot wash clothes and does not have a dryer in her house with rented rooms, welcomes this project: “it is a help, we have no alternative”.

A housing problem

“When we were looking for a room, there was nothing for less than 450 euros, we had to beg the person who rents us now to let us come with the baby for 380 euros a month,” explains Fermina. According to Cáritas, the majority of people in this situation are immigrants in an irregular situation who cannot access work contracts.. Added to these problems is the increase in water prices announced by ATL..

Cáritas does not offer aid to pay for supplies because they consider it not necessary. The energy poverty law already covers people who cannot afford the cost of their bills and prohibits cutting off supplies to vulnerable families.. The problem is that the subtenants are not owners of the meters and are at the free will of the will of their landlords, who are the ones who pay the bill..

What the organization does do is advise families so that they can access public aid and try to pay “so that they have a roof over their heads,” says Lacalle.. Furthermore, the head of Caritas' legal area warns that this is a growing trend and that they are especially concerned about the high number of minors in these conditions.