This emergency solution, which has proven itself in Saudi Arabia, is a first in Europe. But it does not appeal to everyone in Catalonia.
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In Spain, Catalonia is experiencing its worst drought in a century. Faced with a lack of solutions, the region has decided to exclude the use of resupply by boat, but intends to install a floating seawater desalination plant in the port of Barcelona.
The announcement was made on Wednesday April 17 by David Mascort, Catalan Minister of the Environment. “It is a less expensive solution than boats, and which allows better security supply”, he assures.
The floating factory, installed on a huge cargo ship, will be operational in the industrial port by next October. 40,000 cubic meters of water can be produced each day, or 6% of the city’s daily consumption.
“In this way, we guarantee everyone access to drinking water, even if the water no longer falls from the sky.”
David Mascort, Catalan Minister of the Environmentat franceinfo
But it is a very temporary solution which does not solve much, denounces the deputy mayor of Barcelona. For Laia Bonet, the separatists who run the region failed to anticipate the effects of global warming. “These are decisions that must be made, because nothing has been done for ten years. This sends a very bad image to the tourists who visit us and to our residents.”
The north of Catalonia, on the border of the Pyrénées-Orientales, is also in a critical situation. Twelve small mobile desalination stations will be installed by the summer, to guarantee the water supply of the Costa Brava.
