Residents enjoy Boadella reservoir, which is 20% of its capacity, as Spain braces for the third heatwave of the summer near the Spanish-French border, in Darnius, Spain, August 6, 2023.
REUTERS/Nacho DoceAGULLANA, Spain, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Artur Duran holds his hand out by his waist to show the level of water he remembers two years ago at the Darnius Boadella reservoir in northeastern Spain.
Catalonia's authorities last week imposed new water usage restrictions on 22 villages around the reservoir, near the French border, as the aquifer supplying them is also emptying.
Several heatwaves recorded in Spain and wider Europe this summer have worsened the drought, lowering reservoirs' levels as water evaporation and consumption increased, said Ruben del Campo, spokesperson for Spain's meteorological agency AEMET.
The village of Agullana with 900 residents has been keeping its water usage below the 200-litre cap for several months, but its mayor said further steps will be implemented.
Persons:
Doce, Artur Duran, sunbathed, Ruben del Campo, Josep Jovell, Horaci Garcia, Joan Faus, Andrei Khalip, Alexandra Hudson
Organizations:
REUTERS, Reuters, Authorities, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson
Locations:
Spain, Spanish, Darnius, Catalonia, Spain's Andalusia, Europe, Agullana