As in the past, the rains of a few weeks ago temporarily dispelled the worst fears of drought and the news about it ceased. The diminishing capacity of reservoirs, the restrictions on water supplies to households or the absence of water investments are now just news reports.
Let us not wait for the drought to worsen again and for the lack of rainfall to lead to an emergency and to debate the need for a water transfer from the Ebro or the interconnection of the Ter-Llobregat basins. We should also not forget the lack of action by the State and the Generalitat in les Terres de l´Ebre, which should also be carried out in a coordinated manner, because together they can always be better than separately.
Addressing the need for water and preventing the delta from retreating must be addressed with actions all year round
Barcelona and the Ebro River are not antagonistic, but they do suffer from investment deficits from the administrations. They must share solutions through an alliance between the two. They are not adversaries and have the opportunity and the obligation to go hand in hand. There will always be less susceptibility and less rejection of the transfer of the river if the investments required by the south of Catalonia are undertaken before or at the same time. Barcelona and its Metropolitan Area must not be the pagans in thirst for ancestral oblivion towards it. Water is its hallmark and it must be that of progress, but they have been neglected and considered lands of passage, if not of no one.
Transferring only the excess water is not the problem and preventing it is not the solution to save the Delta. Its problems are too many: regression, intrusion and a greater concentration of saline water in wetlands and aquifers or the loss of sediments. The successive swamps in the Ebro basin are an undoubted benefit for the supply of water to homes and for irrigation. But they have also become concatenated barriers that prevent the arrival of the necessary sedimentation to the Delta that solidified it and benefited it in the past from the erroneous massive felling of forests. In this river duel with the sea, the river beat the sea for the contribution of sediments. But this is no longer the case. The necessary sediments no longer arrive, nor will they arrive, and climate change is there, and it is necessary to move forward in decisions. Now, among them, it is pointed out to resort to the “Dutch model” of preserving the coastline. It is not the only thing, but, do it and do it now.
The rice fields of the Ebro Delta
Buda Island is paradigmatic, as is the Trabucador beach bar and other places in danger. In just 20 years its surface has been reduced from 1,800 to 1,100 hectares. Storm Gloria gave us a preview of the cruel abandonment of the Delta and what is coming.
There are so many approved plans, SPAs, RAMSAR, PEIN, Natura Network, UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, etc., that they remind me of that professional who fills the wall of his office with his academic and training qualifications. But are they effective in resolving the critical situation? The only thing that is certain is the non-compliance with European regulations on habitats, birds and water frames.
The summer fires are extinguished with means and prevention in winter. Facing water needs and avoiding the regression of the delta must be addressed with actions all year round and in the future, without the necessary being the enemy of the essential. Its importance is greater than the protection of La Ricarda or the convenience of the Hard Rock Café that even caused the last Catalan election to be called. Thirsty Barcelona and saving the Ebro Delta are not minor priorities.
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