Deepening of drought leads to recycled water 06/02/2008 00:00

The local government of Barcelona is going to use recycled water to water green areas and clean the city's streets.

6 February 2008

MADRID - The local government of Barcelona is going to use recycled water to water green areas and clean the city's streets, owing to fact that its supply basin, the Ter-Llobregat, has entered into an "exceptionally" low state, due to the current drought.

The measures taken by City Hall come amidst a country-wide dry spell that is hitting Catalonia, where reservoirs are around 20 percent of capacity, especially hard.

However, yesterday in Granada, Water Commissioner Jaime Palop said he was "positive" about the water situation as compared with past years, highlighting that the Environment Ministry has not had to ration supply and adding that desalination technology "is starting to bear fruit," leading to less dependence on climate.

"The Ministry's objective is to try to avoid water restrictions independent of climatological conditions," he added.

Other parts of Spain have also been suffering a severe drought, such as Granada (above).

[Copyright EL PAÍS 2008]

Subject: Spanish news