In the last few days, May rains have been recorded in the key areas for the recovery of reservoirs in the internal basins of Catalonia.
Water has begun to accumulate in the headwaters of some rivers, which is good news for drought management.
Although it is not a quick recovery, the state of the reserves has not worsened in the last few days, which provides relief for the authorities in charge of dealing with this problem.
In some cases, such as the Sau reservoir, reserves are gradually improving, which is a positive sign.
The Agència Catalana de l’Aigua (ACA) has provided explanations on what would be necessary for the reservoirs to fill completely, as happened in 2008.
May rains
New rains are also expected in the Pre-Pyrenees and Pyrenees. These precipitations would be a new boost for reserves that had reached an almost critical situation and are now finding a respite and stabilizing.
One of the difficulties in storing rainwater is the aridity of the soil.
Because it is extremely dry, the soil tends to retain all the water it receives at first.
Despite this, the rains are helping to improve the condition of the forests ahead of the fire season, which is expected to start with a high risk.
It is important to mention that the official ACA data on reservoir reserves are not being updated due to a technical problem.
Therefore, the information available does not reflect the real and updated situation. However, the authorities assure that this problem will be resolved as soon as possible.
The current state of the reservoirs
Currently, the average reserves in the reservoirs of all the internal Catalan basins are slightly above 25% of their capacity. A year ago they exceeded 50%.
Therefore, cumulative drought continues to be a significant problem in the region.
Those responsible for the ACA and the Servei Català de Meteorologia maintain that it would be ideal to have a month of June similar to the May that will soon be behind us.
May has recorded more rainfall than usual and if this trend were to continue in June, the relief for rivers and reservoirs could be even greater.
Although recent rains have provided a slight respite for reservoirs in Catalonia, recovery is still slow.
Rainfall is expected to continue and a possible rainy June is expected to improve the situation.
Cumulative drought remains a significant challenge and drought mitigation measures are required in the region.
