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In the 1960s, the town of Vilanova de Sau, which is an hour north of Barcelona, was flooded to create a reservoir, obscuring the medieval church of Sant Romà from view.
Its spectral belltower has repeatedly broken the surface over the past three decades, serving as a timely reminder of Spain’s vulnerable water resources.
However, the church’s tower, nave, and structural foundations are all visible today. The Sau reservoir’s bare, jagged ridges demonstrate how far its levels have dropped, and visitors drawn by the ghost village’s reappearance walk on the cracked ground surrounding the remaining body of water.
Last month’s “exceptional” levels of drought in northeastern Spain threatened 6 million people’s access to drinking water in the Barcelona metropolitan area.
According to Catalan Water Agency data, the Sau reservoir’s water levels are currently at 9% of their maximum level, so officials decided to remove the fish to prevent them from suffocating. However, given the number of dead fish that have already risen to the surface, the race against time to save them might already be lost.
To prevent its quality from deteriorating to the point where it becomes unusable, the remaining water in the basin is being diverted to another, nearby reservoir that is fuller.
Spain’s Aemet weather agency announced last week that the country has officially entered a long-term drought due to the recent high temperatures and low rainfall.
However, the situation is critical in Catalonia where reservoir levels typically hover around 27% of their maximum capacity. The use of water for industrial and agricultural purposes is regulated, and it is illegal to fill swimming pools or wash cars with drinking water.
Spain has warmed overall by 1.3 degrees Celsius (2 Fahrenheit) since the 1960s, a trend that is apparent all year long but is most pronounced in the summer, when average temperatures have increased by 1.6 degrees.
