Barcelona to get floating desalination plant to help fight drought in northeastern Spain

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s drought-stricken region of Catalonia will install a floating desalination plant to help the city of Barcelona guarantee its drinking water supply, regional authorities said Thursday.

Barcelona already relies on Europe’s largest desalination plant for domestic use to compensate over three years of below average rainfall that have led to a historic drought made worse by climate change.

Now Spain’s second-largest city will get a temporary second desalination plant in its port later this year.

David Mascort, who heads the regional environmental authority, said the plant is scheduled to start working in October. It will produce the equivalent of 6% of the city’s consumption, compared to almost a quarter of the city’s water now produced by Barcelona’s permanent desalination plant.

Barcelona uses desalination and water purification systems to meet its water needs. The reservoirs that serve 6 million people in central and northern Catalonia, including Barcelona, are at 18% of their capacity.