The yawning gap between locals’ and visitors’ consumption is stoking long-standing resentments ahead of an election.
As rain poured into Catalonia’s parched capital, the tourists did, too.
Yet while a damp April brought some relief to the drought-stricken Spanish region — which has been living under rain-starved skies for over three years — the crescendoing tourist season did not.
After all, spring is when visitors start spilling into Barcelona’s streets each morning from cruise ships, hotels and Airbnbs — and consuming considerably more of the city’s water than the average resident, threatening to push Barcelona’s water supply to the breaking point.
The disconnect has locals fulminating. While Catalan municipalities have faced water consumption limits since the region declared a drought emergency in early February, the tourism sector has largely escaped restrictions.
I use hotel water for 2 things when I travel; showers and toilets. The 2 or 3 liters I drink is nothing compared to those. But I imagine Americans and others from areas where water isn’t restricted take much longer showers and we have a habit of leaving the tap running while we do stuff like wash something or brush our teeth. That being said I’m heading to Barcelona in fall and I’ll try to be mindful of my water usage