Villages in Spain’s parched northeast struggle to keep drinking water flowing amid drought emergency

By JOSEPH WILSON and EMILIO MORENATTI
The Associated Press

GUALBA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia has declared a drought emergency for the area of some 6 million people, including the city of Barcelona. But thousands of people who live in villages and towns in the Catalan countryside have already been in full-blown crisis mode for several months. Many village residents struggle to find drinking water and municipal governments have to resort to bringing water in by tanker trucks and even cutting off the taps to let wells recover. Experts warn that the situation may become chronic with the entire Mediterranean region set to get hotter and drier due to climate change.