Severe drought in Galicia leads to water rationing and agricultural crisis

• Galicia faces one of its most severe droughts in decades due to low spring rainfall and consecutive heatwaves.
• Nearly 100 municipalities are enforcing water restrictions, including bans on non-essential usage and potential supply cuts.
• The agricultural sector reports significant losses in forage and milk production, with some livestock struggling to access sufficient water.
• Heat-related health impacts have resulted in 276 deaths since May, according to official monitoring data.

Water Scarcity and Restrictions

• As of early August, 91 municipalities were under alert or pre-alert status, including major rivers like the Lérez, Anllóns, and Verdugo.
• Measures include shutting off decorative fountains, public showers, and banning garden irrigation or pool filling in cities like Santiago de Compostela and Carballo.
• In Muros, emergency measures required water delivery via fire trucks to maintain supply levels, exacerbated by high tourism demand.
• River monitoring data indicates that by mid-August, 78% of Galician rivers were experiencing some level of drought, with 19% at extreme levels.

Agricultural and Economic Impact

• Livestock farmers have been forced to use winter feed reserves early because grazing land dried up two months ahead of schedule.
• Maize crops are failing due to a lack of water during critical growth stages, threatening future production.
• The Sindicato Labrego Galego (SLG) is calling for official damage assessments and specific financial support to help farms adapt to climate change and decrease production intensity.

Public Health Consequences

• The MoMo system (Daily Mortality Monitoring) recorded 276 heat-attributable deaths in Galicia since May.
• Women accounted for 206 of the total recorded heat-related fatalities.

Policy and Infrastructure Debate

• The regional government has proposed building new reservoirs to improve storage capacity.
• Expert Jorge Dafonte (University of Santiago de Compostela) argues that reservoirs should be a last resort due to their environmental and financial costs.
• Recommended alternatives include:
  • Improving distribution network efficiency to fix leaks.
  • Utilizing treated wastewater for irrigation.
  • Developing distributed networks of wells and springs for smaller communities, similar to successful models in Abegondo.