Spain has one swimming pool for every 37 residents, and these, too, are now in the spotlight. While her swimming pool has been empty for five years since her children grew up, Garcia, 61, said the town has been stigmatised unfairly for its pools. Pools are being used as a scapegoat for a lack of coherent water policy in Spain, she said. It is a sentiment shared by Gonzalo Delacamara, director of the IE Centre for Water & Climate Adaptation in Madrid. While the use of water to fill swimming pools during a drought is irresponsible, the bulk of Spain's water resources are taken by the agriculture sector, accounting for 70% of water usage, he said.

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