Drought in Spain: If only the town center has running water

Weeks of drought endangered the water supply in Spain. In the town of Ribadavia, drinking water became so scarce at times that the government allocated it with tankers – and the citizens had to be resourceful.

Ribadavia is a small town in the southwestern province of Ourense in Galicia. About 5000 people live there, everyone knows each other. Normally three rivers flow here, water should not be a problem. But this year it’s different, says José Manuel Dabarca, who runs a bar in the town: “There has never been so little water as this year,” he says.

The Maquiáns is the river from which the people of Ribadavia get their water, but in the end it carried little of it. A real problem for many small business people, because for at least two weeks they only had running water by the hour.

For example the hairdresser Imma Rodríguez. She gets running water from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and from 8:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., i.e. outside of working hours, she describes her situation and affirms: “We are doing what we can.”

Customers bring water

In concrete terms, this means: stocking up, using bottled water and being supported by customers. Some even bring bottles of hot water to Imma Rodríguez’s shop so she can wash their hair.

Even the baker Felipe had to come up with an idea to stay in business and regularly went to the well for water, without which he cannot prepare bread dough. Without water there was no steam cooker either, so the steam had to be generated by hand. Without water or electricity, they are really stuck these days, he says.

The fountain has also become a regular stop for bar owner José Manuel Dabarca – lucky for him it’s right on the doorstep of his shop. Because he had to wash dishes by hand and also fill cisterns and machines. All with well water. This did not make serving his guests any faster.

Tanker trucks are said to reduce the problem

Now the city administration has tankers come to supply most of the 5,000 residents with drinking water. Because only 500 of them had running water at times – those who live in the historical town center. But the plumbing is old and could burst with constant cycling of the water supply.

The next challenge is just around the corner: the time of the folk festivals and the grape harvest. Traditionally, a lot of water is then used in the area. There is a solution to the problem, but it would be expensive: transporting water from the Miño River.

In the meantime it has finally rained again in Ribadavia – but for that to be more than a drop in the ocean, it needs a lot more.