reservoirs

We have so much water in Spain’s reservoirs right now that it has become a problem for someone: nuclear power.

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What just a few months ago seemed like a chimera—seeing overflowing reservoirs in the middle of winter—has become an overwhelming reality after the passage of successive Atlantic fronts. But the water that has fallen on the peninsula has not only alleviated the drought; has generated such an excess of energy supply that the electrical system has had to do without its traditional “base load”: nuclear energy. The data confirms that, faced with the push of water and wind, the atom has lost its place in the market. A change of scenery. According to data from the Peninsular Hydrological Bulletinthe water reserve in Spain has skyrocketed to 77.3% of its total capacity, storing 43,341 hm³ of water. This represents an increase of 10.1% in a single week, a figure that illustrates the volume of rainfall. To understand the magnitude of this data, just look back: in this same week in 2025, the reserve was at 58.13%. Even more impressive is the comparison with the average of the last 10 years, which stands at 53.6%. That is, today we have 13,000 cubic hectometers more water than the historical average for the decade. The situation is such that the focus has shifted from scarcity to security. In Andalusia, where red notices have been activated, reservoirs are functioning as the last line of defense. The system has been doing “flood lamination” work (water retention to avoid floods), especially in the Guadalquivir and Genil basin, where dams such as Iznájar or El Tranco are crucial to contain the flow before it reaches cities like Seville. The great battery of Spain is full. The impact goes far beyond the visible. Reservoirs are not just liquid stores, they are giant batteries, and right now they are more charged than ever. As detailed in the Hydrological Bulletin in your energy sectionSpain currently stores 16,184 GWh of hydroelectric energy, the largest amount ever recorded at this time. If we compare this figure with the same week of the previous year (13,825 GWh), the jump is notable: today we have 117.1% of the energy we had a year ago. This massive injection of cheap electricity has saturated the seams of the Iberian market. The supply of renewable energy has been so high that interconnections have not been able to cope. According to expert Joaquín Coronado on your LinkedIn profilethe combination of rain and high wind production in Portugal caused the saturation of the interconnection between both countries. With electricity unable to flow freely, the market disengaged: while in Spain prices were sinking due to the sun and water, in Portugal they skyrocketed during peak hours due to technical restrictions. The physical network is suffering to manage such an avalanche of green electrons. The nuclear “no home”. The direct consequence of this renewable surplus is that nuclear energy is no longer competitive in this scenario. The thesis is clear: there is plenty of installed power when the weather is favorable. According to market datathe pressure from renewables has expelled 1.5 GW of nuclear power. On the one hand, Almaraz unit II had to reduce load. On the other hand, the Trillo Nuclear Power Plant was completely disconnected from the grid on Sunday, February 8. The confirmation comes from the headquarters itself. In his informative noteTrillo managers acknowledge that the plant stopped on a scheduled basis because “it was not compatible with the electricity market nor was it required by the System Operator.” Although they assure that the plant is technically perfect, they point to an economic reason: with prices sunk by storms and “high taxation”, operating the nuclear plant costs them. The underlying debate: why keep what is left over? This episode of “nuclear blackout” comes in the middle of the debate over the extension of the Almaraz plant, whose owners are requesting to extend its useful life beyond 2027. A new report from Greenpeaceprepared by the Rey Juan Carlos University and the UPC, warns that artificially keeping nuclear operational is a stopper for the ecological transition. What happened this week in Trillo reinforces his conclusions: Technical feasibility: The study ensures that in the period 2028-2029, Almaraz’s energy could be replaced by 96.4% by renewables. Economic cost: According to The Jumpextending Almaraz would cost consumers an additional 3,831 million euros and would stop green investments worth 26,129 million. Emissions: The report indicates that the extension would generate millions of tons of extra CO2 by discouraging the installation of new clean power. The market ruling. This episode is not a meteorological anecdote, it is confirmation of a change in structural cycle. The February storm has functioned as a stress test for the electrical system and the result is clear: in a marginalist market, water and wind physically displace nuclear power. The data supports that this is already a trend, not an exception. According to closing figures for 2025 published by Five Daysin Iberdrola’s generation mix in Spain, hydroelectric energy (33.3%) already surpassed nuclear energy (33.2%) in total production last year. What happened this week in Trillo is the real-time demonstration of that statistic. With Spain’s “battery” charged to 77% and the wind turbines spinning, the rigidity of the nuclear park becomes an economic barrier. The market’s conclusion is, today, unappealable: we have so much water that nuclear power is no longer essential. Image | freepik and freepik Xataka | When Spain embraced wind energy, it did not have a problem: it would be too windy.

Spain wants more pork and more safe water in its reservoirs. And he is discovering that both things at the same time are not possible.

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Hidden in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León on Monday, there was something that they did not suspect would be controversial: the authorization to install more than 3,500 heads of pigs on the outskirts of San Cebrián de Castro, province of Zamora. Why would it be controversial? As recognized in the Diario de Zamorais the umpteenth authorization of this type in recent years and, unlike others, this macro farm is not close to any urban center. The only small problem is that, well, it is 100 meters from the Ricobayo reservoir, right where the Esla flows into the Duero. And is that a problem? The idea is to install a pig farm “with capacity for 3,100 sows with piglets until weaning (from 0 to 6 kilos in weight), with 620 replacement sows and six boars.” Just over 132,000 square meters, more than a dozen warehouses, a manure dump with a capacity for 1,215 cubic meters and two enormous slurry ponds with a capacity for 14,000 cubic meters. The project insists that “there will be no discharge into the Public Hydraulic Domain”; but, of course, the doubts are more than reasonable. In 2023, 161 Zamora municipalities They were left without drinking water due to contamination of its reservoirs. Because there is also the issue of water consumption. According to the data, an annual water consumption is estimated at 24,479 cubic meters. It’s a lot of water, but it’s not a surprise either: agriculture and livestock consume almost 90% of the Duero basin. And Ricobayo is a critical reservoir And not only for the Northern Plateau. Because what is happening in the Esla River is something much more important than it seems. Spain It is the absolute leader in European porkbut (or “because”) the legal framework is too fragmented and has huge regulatory gaps. That is to say, the basic management of intensive farms has been broken for years. The sum of an unambitious basic state standard, hydrological plans, municipal plans and environmental authorizations leaves room for dozens of towns throughout the country to spend years denouncing the enormous ecological and health consequences of this type of installations. All of this comes at a difficult time. Because the macro farm industry is about to reach its key moment: it is not only that the administration is following The closest issue is that the prosecution is taking cards in the matter. That is to say, in the near future, Spain is going to have to clarify what it wants to be at an agricultural level and at what cost. But you can’t do it with your back to the externalities it produces. The competitiveness of Spanish pork is based on vertical integration, efficiency and scale; and that pushes farms to have greater capacity and associated plants (feed, slurry treatment, biogas, etc.). That is, it puts completely new pressure on parts of the system that are not prepared to withstand it. Water is one of those problems. The Spanish water reserve is at 51.4% of its capacity and we have just emerged from one of the largest droughts in recent decades: how is it possible that a strategic resource like water enjoys these management problems (and this lack of protection)? That question is indeed more complex than it seems. Image | Bob | Raiden32 In Xataka | The Atlas of Toxic Spain: this is the geography of pollution in our country

Spain still has dozens of reservoirs that cannot be used because literally no one has laid pipes

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It was inaugurated in 2015, cost 57 million euros and has a capacity for 30 hm3 of water, but the Siles dam in Jaén hasn’t been used for a decade because no one has made the necessary pipelines to irrigate the Sierra del Segura. It is not an isolated case. An example. The Rules dam was inaugurated a little earlier: in 2004. Today, while the province of Granada is at 29% of its capacity, the Vélez de Benaudalla reservoir is close to 70%. The secret is the same: going 20 years without pipes that allow us to use water. These flagrant cases, but there are many more: Alcolea in Huelva, Mularroya in Zaragoza, Castrovido in Burgos… Is there anything more Spanish than making reservoirs and taking years—or decades—to build the pipelines that make them useful? The house on the roof. In a country like Spain, each useless cubic hectometer is not only de facto lost water, it is also a tremendous ecological damage inflicted on river channels for no reason. And, if that were not enough, it is economic nonsense. It makes no sense to mobilize all the resources necessary to launch a reservoir and then leave it forgotten. Above all, because (whether we like it or not) we live in an agricultural giant that needs water security that we cannot guarantee. The opportunity cost of delaying the pipelines necessary to launch these reservoirs impacts the economic and employment development of entire regions. A Spanish problem? To tell the truth, we cannot say that it is a purely Spanish problem either. Portugal, France or Italy have had similar problems. What happens in Spain is that there is an enormous fragmentation of powers that means that, when any problem appears, everything comes to a standstill. In our case, the central State designs and finances the main dams and key sections. However, it is the autonomous communities, the hydrographic confederations or the municipalities that they must run the secondary networks. And in determining what is the main or secondary tranche (and who should pay the bill) most problems arise. But not the only ones. And it is that, as the processes become eternallicenses expire, works are not awarded, litigation drags on, environmental requirements become stricter and solving the problem becomes impossible. In the end, the dams are what is striking (what is politically profitable). The “last mile” (that whole set of pumping stations, pipelines and treatment plants) is much less striking, as crucial as it is. When problems become entrenched, there are no good solutions and administrations prefer to put the issue aside rather than make decisions. The country of a thousand preys. Because yes, it is true: Spain has many damsbut dozens of them remain vats of water without any use. And as much as the causes are clear, it is still striking that not even water crises like those of recent years manage to solve this. Image | Red Zeppelin In Xataka | “In the next ten years, Spain and Latin America are going to suffer (a lot) with water,” Robert Glennon (University of Arizona)

The rains in the Mediterranean have arrived at a very delicate time for the reservoirs of the region

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The Mediterranean basin is living a new episode of heavy rains. The extreme of the episode led yesterday to the State Meteorology Agency (AEMET) to Issue several red notices For extreme risk, while numerous yellow and oranges notices remain in force today. Despite the obvious risk that this is, there is the circumstance that rainfall arrives at a delicate time for one of the hydrographic basins of the region. The arrival of the rains. The Mediterranean basin rains They monopolize the looks of meteorologists. Aemet today maintains several notices associated with storms and rainfall in much of the eastern coast, notices that also cover interior provinces. Notices that, during the morning they will still remain in the Balearic Islands. A delicate moment in the safe. After several years of drought, almost a year of high rainfall between autumn of 2024 and Spring of 2025 served to allow most of the country’s hydrographic basins to recover water. Many even saw unprecedented filling levels in years. This It wasn’t exactly The case of the Segura Basin. The state of The reservoirs of this basin From southeast peninsular improved with respect to 2024, but did not reach the filling level of 2023 or its average of the last 10 years. Such is the situation, that a few days ago, the Segura Hydrographic Confederation He pointed out that the scarcity index index had crossed the threshold of the pre -alder and was approaching the border of the alert situation. A dry August. Except in some specific areas, August has been A dry month on the peninsula (Not so much in the island communities), even by this point of the year. Precipitation in peninsular Spain were around 34% lower than those that could be expected for a month of August, and that has been noted in the water reserve. The Spanish reservoirs went from being, on average, 67% of its capacity At the end of July to be at 59.3% At the beginning of September. Of course, summer is a time when Reserve descent Water is expected, but weather has not helped stop this trend. In the case of the Safe Basin, the Last data availablethose of last week, indicate that the reservoirs of this environment are found at 22.5% of its capacity, making it the dry basin in the country. It is also at a distance from the next, that of Guadalete-Barbate, which was last week to 44.5% of its capacity. We will have to wait. One of the areas where orange notices have been issued for important risk is precisely that of the Vega del Segura, in Murcia, where they are expected 30 mm accumulated in an hour. Other areas of this basin have also seen yellow or orange warnings are activated during yesterday and today. In Xataka | A Norway reservoir began to release millions of liters of water without anyone ordering it. Months later, we already know why Image | SUPERCHILUM, CC by-SA 4.0 / ECMWF

Large basins already have their reservoirs less than 80% of their capacity

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Summer is affecting Spanish reservoirs. After almost a year of Hydrolyogical recoverysummer goes to the amount of reservoir water, which has been especially reduced in the downtown and north basins. Two months. Since reaching its annual peak before the start of summer, the amount of water retained in Spanish swamps has descended significantly. If at the end of May the Spanish Water Reserve It was 77.5% of its capacity, nine weeks later It is 68.4%. At a light pace. The speed at which the swamps are emptying this summer It’s somewhat faster that the average of recent years and considerably faster than in the last two summers. If in their peak the Spanish reservoirs accumulated 43,407 cubic hectometers (HM³), now they have 38,311 hm³, a decrease of 11.74% compared to this maximum (9.1% less compared to the total capacity of the system). This fall is somewhat greater than usual in this period. If we took the same dates last year, the fall was 8.88%, while the average of the last 5 years was 11.18% for the same dates. 10.98% if we consider the last 10 years. Different basins, different falls. The basin most affected by this fall is that of the coast of Galicia. The reservoirs of this basin have passed to save 548 to 417 hm³or what is the same, 23.91% less water. Among the big basins, the largest falls have been seen in the Duero, which went from 7,040 to 6,031 hm³ (a 14.33%drop); and of the Guadalquivir, which passed from 4,905 to 4,206 hm³ (14.25% less). Less restrictions. Part of the difference can be explained with the end of the drought that threatened our reservation last year at this point, a drought that affected all the basins of the Peninsula. The lack of water led the administrations to introduce Measures to limit consumption water. Some measures that, as the rains arrived, were being lifted by the different administrations that introduced them. Now, After relaxing the measureswater consumption has been able to increase and, with it, the speed at which our swamps empties. A June of the most anomalous. Summer is always a time of water stress: rainfall is usually minor and water consumption is greater. This year this is especially true, especially during the month of June. The summer of 2025 began strongly. June was not only an extremely warm month (the warmest since we have records), it was also a drier month than is usually common on dates. Precipitation was about 68% of the usual in peninsular Spain. Heat implies greater Evaporation of reservoirs water. A study Posted in 2000 It estimated at 1,400 hm³ the evaporated water in reservoirs and wetlands of Spain. This figure, of course, depends on factors such as temperature, but also on others such as the filling of the reservoirs (more water, more surface; already more surface, more evaporation). Heat makes more water to refresh us, also through greater energy consumption, and the lack of rains in some contexts must be supplied with water from reservoirs. In Xataka | The next great drought is a matter of time. It is the one we have to solve the problem of sediments in reservoirs Image | Pedro Luis Domínguez Ruiz

Our reservoirs have a serious structural problem. And experts have been warning us for years

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Drought has been one of the recurring themes of recent years. Both the lack of rains and their diverse consequences have more than a five years in the informative agenda. That is why the question of how much water we have left has asked Very diverse ways. There is only one problem: we are not really able to answer it. Moreover, what we know that our water reserves They are usually below what the data indicates. The reason is in something as natural as erosion and sedimentation processes, but its consequences They have been worrying the experts for years. Throughout their channel the rivers transport small particles of rock and organic matter that tend to accumulate at certain points of the route, either on the river bed, in river deltas or in its meanders. The reservoirs are another of the auspicious places in which the water tends to “release” these particles. The swamp floor Thus tends to accumulate sludge. The first problem that this generates is the loss of swamp capacity. The higher the volume of this occupied by sediments less is the amount of water it can store. The second problem is that we do not know exactly how the sediments accumulate in each swamp since it can vary depending on the characteristics of each basin and each reservoir. If we don’t know how many sediments we have, we can’t be sure how much water we have left. The weight of the terrams Estimates on the weight of the terrain, which is how this accumulation of sediments is known in the reservoirs, vary. A Batimetry Study made in 2018 For the Tajo Hydrographic Confederation in the Entrepeñas and Buendía reservoirs, he estimated that the accumulation of these sediments was insignificant. At the opposite end, Another batimetry studyis made by the Segura Hydrographic Confederation, estimated that its reservoirs could have lost between 10 and 40% of its capacity due to the incidence of this phenomenon. They highlighted the case of the Lorca reservoir, built at the end of the 19th century, which would be at the upper end of this fork. Estimates made for the whole Spanish reservoirs are limited. A study conducted from 110 reservoirs estimated that The loss of capacity could be around 5%. José Luis Casamor and Antoni Calafat, from the University of Barcelona, They warned in 2018 that uncertainty was high in this estimate, since the possibility of extrapolating the results of this study to more than a thousand remaining reservoirs was limited. This is a problem on which experts carry years warning. The study carried out in the Segura Basin, for example, was carried out in 2017, while Casamor and Calafat’s work was published in 2018 in the publication Earth and technology of the ICOG (Illustrious Official College of Geologists). In a second article (also published in 2018) in The conversationCasamor explained that that of terraces was a problem with “faces and difficult execution” solutions “. Cleaning the sediment reservoir bed is an arduous task that requires the emptying of the reservoir, something that can be even more complicated in old reservoirs, explains Casamor. Prevention is a better option for this expert. This is to incorporate knowledge about the accumulation of sediments in the infrastructure design process. Another inclusion of dikes prior to the reservoir may contain the sediments up so that they do not accumulate in the reservoir. Other proposed measures to contain the sediments upstream include reforestation. The plants contain the erosion of the soil, which makes less particles reach the rivers and from there to the reservoirs. In this sense, rural abandonment has also been indicated as partial responsible for the situation. The fires also contribute to the arrival of sediments to the channels, so the fight to contain them can also contribute their grain of sand. In Xataka | The time of truth of the Spanish reservoirs: how are they going to endure the heat after rains that has left them overflowing Image | Ray Raimundo

The reservoirs are almost 22% above the average of the last decade. There is an “but” important before celebrating

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The forecasts of meteorologists seem to indicate that spring You have your days counted: Next week we will see an increase in the temperatures and models of the State Metorology Agency, they foresee that in the middle of June the rainfall is less than what is usual for these dates. Despite this, this short spring has been intense, and that It has been reflected In the reservoirs. 77.5%reserves. The latest data indicates that the water reserve has been placed this week at 43,407 cubic hectometers (HM³), 77.5% of its capacity. As it stands out The Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, to this have contributed “abundant” rainfall in the Peninsula and especially in Lugo, where 55.8 mm have been reached. The internal basins of the Basque Country (95.2% of its capacity), the Duero (92.6%), and the western Cantabrian basins (92.2%) They are the ones closest to their theoretical maximum. In the south stands out The River Basin Odiel, red and stonesat 91.7% of its capacity. Almost 22% more than average. We have been more than a year in which the reservoirs accumulate more water than the average of the previous 10 years. The current 43,407 hm³ represent an increase of 21.79% above the average of the past decade, 35,641 hm³. It is good news, but it should be remembered that the data of the Decenal has been significantly weighed by last decade. If we go To data from five years ago, we will see that the average filling of the previous ten years (2010-2019) was 74.3% global and 71.8% if we focus on the reservoirs of consumptive use. The average of the last 10 years is now quite far, in 63.7% for the set of reservoirs, and in 58.1% if we focus on consumptive use. Unequal state. As usual, there are marked differences in the filling level of the different basins. We indicated before some of those that are closest to the full filling, all of them above 90% of their capacity. At the other end, the southern and southwest basins remain at relatively low levels, highlighting the safe basin, at 31% of its capacity. The positive reading is that even this basin has seen its level of filling in recent months. This last week, in fact, the basin has seen an increase of almost 1% compared to the previous week. The Andalusian Basins of the Mediterranean, also among the most empty, have also experienced a slight increase in their volume, until approaching the 57.6% of its capacity. The negative note is put by the Guadalete and Barbate basin, the second with the lowest average filling (at 54.88%), which has lost six Hm³ in recent days, a reduction of 0.36%. Of course, the basin shows a markedly superior filling last year by these dates (30.28%) and also slightly higher than the average of the last 10 years (53.31%). The end of spring. The state of the reservoirs allow us to face with slight optimism an uncertain and imminent summer. Meteorological forecasts They point out a drastic increase in temperatures in the next few days, and not just that. Aemet’s medium -term predictions also indicate that the trend of the coming weeks will not only point to warmer temperatures than usual by these dates, but also towards precipitations below average. This seems to imply the end of spring, at least from the meteorological point of view, and the beginning of a summer that we do not know what will hold us. In Xataka | “Thank you so much, reservoirs.net”: Spanish men are developing a peculiar obsession with swamps Image | Alina Rossoshanska / Miteco

While reservoirs from all over the country reach record figures, Spain still has a black dot of the drought: Almería

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For eighth consecutive week, Spanish reservoirs have risen again. It was to be expected: the same rains that have “bitter” vacations to many during Holy Week are now becoming good water news. For the first time in many years, Spain has exceeded the 75% barrier in reservoir water. And yet, this enthusiasm does not reach a very specific area of ​​the country: The Southeast. Where the rains do not arrive. If we see an autonomous map of the country’s water reserves, we will see all of Spain in blue (light, medium or dark). All except Murcia; That, at 36.49% of its capacity, it can only appear in colors close to orange or red. And, although Reservations have grown a lotthe safe basin is still very touched with 10 points less than the historical average. For more Inri, it cannot be said that it is a management problem (although the management of the basin has always been a controversial issue). It is something that extends, as I say, to all southeast. The province of Alicante is at 31.75%. That is to say, above the terrible data last yearbut without reaching the average of the last decade. And then there is Almeria. Almería? What happens in Almeria? That hides among the excellent data from Andalusia (60.59%) and the more than good of the Andalusian Mediterranean basins (55.54%), The province of Almería has a huge problem: its reserves are 11.16%. Slightly better than a year ago, but still below Lbetter 2024 data. Almería’s problem with water is not new. That’s true. If we look, the historical average of the last 10 years in The province is 13.13%. Very slightly above the current figures. And we talk about a place with a huge weight of water intensive industries (agriculture and tourism); one that, in addition, is suffering like nobody Desertification problems and overexploitation (and pollution) of aquifers. As They said a few weeks ago from Ecologists in Action“Seeing Llover away the ghost of drought”, but in areas like Almeria that drought has been anywhere. It is a false impression that only management can difficulty. Lose the water war. At least there are three Almeria regions in which drought not only persists, but It is completely chronified: Níjar, Sierra de los Fizodes and El Levante. And that we talk about the Spanish province that adds the greatest number of rafts of different sizes and characteristics (27,000according to the latest estimates). In 1987, “the first reports on the deterioration of the aquifers of the Dalías field were announced, the point where intensive agriculture was born.” And the problem has only increased: “Every year, Almería starts its agricultural campaign with a structural deficit of around 200 cubic hectometers.” The story is simple, too simple. Almería wanted to become the great laboratory against desertification, but has become a battle territory. A battle that little by little We are losing. Image | Alicia Camacho In Xataka | Arid soils are devouring Almeria, Murcia and Alicante faster than we expected. And it does not seem that we can stop it

a macroproject of 1,800 MW without the need for new reservoirs

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In recent weeks the heavy rains They have filled to the limit different reservoirs, forcing many of them to open your gates. But what if all That water will be stored To create a giant battery for renewables? In Galicia they have got to work. The biggest in Spain. The great reversible hydroelectric power plant will be known as Conse II and will be located on the Bibey River, in the province of Ourense, According to Vigo’s lighthouse. In this same medium they have pointed out that the project will be lifted taking advantage of the 690 meter altitude difference between the Cenza and Bao reservoirs. In addition, the initiative will be developed by Iberdrola and will have an investment of 1,500 million euros. An underground giant battery. The new project is also known as the pumping hydroelectric plant. The operation of the plant is as energy storage when there is an excess renewable energy in the system. More easily, the plant uses that excess to pump water from a reservoir less than a superior. So when there are demand peaks, water will fall again, moving turbines that will generate electricity, acting as a natural battery. An expanded project. According to Galicia’s voicethe original idea was to build a 900 MW plant, but Iberdrola decided to double its capacity to 1800MW after additional studies. However, these same analyzes detected geological risks in the area where the great underground cavern will be excavated that will house much of the plant. More studies. The Xunta de Galicia has given the approval To carry out new geotechnical research, as the Galician medium has learned. In addition, these new studies include the opening of an access gallery of 1,500 meters and another of 200 meters, which will allow analyzing the land directly before starting the main work An environmental problem? In recent months, There were many demands to stop different wind -collo -projects due to the environmental impact, but the Supreme Court recently has given The reason for renewables. As the Vigo lighthouse has been recordedthe authorities have estimated that the environmental impact will be minimal as it is an underground infrastructure. In addition, the Ministry of Environment He has stressed that will not affect the area of ​​special conservation (ZEC) of the central massif, belonging to the Natura 2000 Network. However, as they have explained from progressthe environmental report has indicated several aspects that must be managed during the execution of the works, such as the large volume of land movement the acoustic impact and vibrations during construction. For this reason, noise levels will be required to comply with current regulations and that Iberdrola present a previous study on possible conditions to nearby populations. More storage. Spain closed last year with 63.9% of the total renewable generationbeing wind and solar the ones that produce the most. For this reason, and given the intermittency of these sources, it is important that it will continue to look for ways to store the surplus. According to has detailed the voice of Galiciathe works of this hydroelectric plant will last about 21 months, to which three more months are added to complete the technical polls, so it will still wait. Image | Dichiano man Xataka | “Thank you so much, reservoirs.net”: Spanish men are developing a peculiar obsession with swamps

The rains have left a splendid Spain and a tourist destination is benefiting from it: the reservoirs

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“While the world wobbles, nature seems to want to compensate us.” This phrase of Jose Luis Gallego summarizes very well what is happening in the Spanish countryside. With full swamps and aquifers recharging, Spain is living “its most splendid spring in decades.” And that has an unexpected beneficiary: tourism. The many droughts in each drought. Galician explained in El Confidencial That, in broad strokes, there are three types of droughts: the meteorological (linked to the shortage of rainfall), the hydrological (which has to do with the water in the system. – rivers, swamps and aquifers) and the edaphic (which is related to the soil and its ability to provide the vegetation of the water it needs). The good news is that we have overcome all three and the land knows. It is no longer that the fields of Extremadura, Castilla or Andalusia are a show; It is that even the ugliest and dirty surroundings of any Spanish city are pretty. It is true that the wetlands plagued by birds and overflowers of vegetation are the areas where this “March miracle” It shows morebut even the most arid places are full of surprises. The Sea of ​​Castile. The best example can be seen in that corner between the provinces of Cuenca and Guadalajara that is usually known as “Mar de Castilla“. There are five reservoirs (Almoguera, Bolarque, Entrepeñas, Estramera and Zorita) in the Middle Tagus and one more (good day) in the Low Alcarria with a capacity of 2,515 hm³ and a tourist capacity that has lived better times. In the 60s, as consequences of the hydrological and developmental policies of the Franco regime, the region was filled with urbanizations, restaurants and small embarrassing. It became a tourist claim that improves infrastructure, first, and The Tajo-Segura transfer, afterthey put in a slow decline. The drought of recent years did the rest. However, with the rains of March, the Sea of ​​Castile It is back. How to turn water into gold. Just read the chronicles of the local press to verify that the residents of the riverside municipalities are really excited. Entrepeñas has only transferred water to good times eight times since 1956, The last almost 30 years ago; But this weekend it has happened again. The swamp has such a amount of water that you have been able to see really unprecedented images (or that had been not seen decades). He Runrun of the situation He has made “every day more curious who arrive at the riverside region to witness in the first person and immortalize with their cameras or with their mobile phones such an exceptional moment and who knows if unrepeatable.” The question that is asked in the Sea of ​​Castile is how much the situation will endure and if the Lcoal Tourism of it can be used. Although, in reality, it is a question that many more people are asked. Our country has more than 1,200 swamps and “almost double the fresh water coast than Marina in the country.” The reservoirs have historically been much more than water reserves: they have been tourist attractions that contributed to stop the demographic bleeding of emptied Spain. The problem is that, in recent decades, that interest has been falling little by little. And rural tourism has failed to fill the hole fully. Therefore, the councils of Cáceres, Lugo, Badajoz and the 530 municipalities associated with the Federation of Municipalities with Hydroelectric Plant and Embalses of Spain (15 communities and 46 provinces) have decided Bring Pantanos Tourism back. Upon? Indeed and with A very simple value proposal: Adventure activities (“Barranquismo, the paragliding or balloon walks”, “Boat routes or kayak, candle courses, sport fishing or paddle-south”, but also “horseway or bicycle routes, enjoy the observation of birds or practicing hiking”), proximity gastronomy and cultural, monumental and historical heritage. A new solution for a worrying problem. As We counted a few days agowhile in 2024 the hotels in Spain registered 7.5% more of foreign travelers, the speakers of Spanish tourists stagnate with a minimum rise of 0.2%. The price increase and the massification of the most important tourist areas are the main reasons for that break of national tourism. Therefore, now it is the least exploited areas that seek their part of a cake that grows 4.9% per year. And, seeing the photos of the country’s reservoirs, it makes a lot of sense. Image | Riaño, León (Paulo Valdivieso) | Pelayo Arbués | Eduardo Kenji Amorim In Xataka | Mass tourism has the days counted in Spain thanks to a phenomenon outside its control: extreme heat

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