Worst drought recorded hits Spain’s Catalonia, sparking fears and ingenuity
Al Jazeera
Fountains have dried up while hotels impose a four-minute shower challenge as water runs dry.
Barcelona, Spain – The Magic Fountain is a popular tourist attraction where coloured jets of water shot up in the air as classical or pop favourites played.
Not anymore.
Like fountains across Barcelona, it lies dry and a little forlorn with signs reading: “Fountain turned off due to drought”.
The free musical show at the water feature, which had run for nearly 100 years, is another casualty of what Catalan authorities in northern Spain have described as the “worst drought ever”.
After three years without sustained rainfall, emergency measures were brought at the weekend, which include a ban on refilling swimming pools in hotels or campsites or topping them up unless recycled water is used.
