“As Barcelona runs out of water,” New Scientist reports, “Spain has been forced to consider importing water from France by boat.”


(The Dutch cargo ship Artemis run aground by high winds not on the beaches of Barcelona or Spain but in western France. Still, a nice complementary image to this post. Photo by Natacha Favreau / AP. Source.)

“Barcelona and the surrounding region are suffering the worst drought in decades. There are several possible solutions, including diverting a river, and desalinating water. But the city looks like it will ship water from the French port of Marseilles.”

The amount of water being considered is “small – 25,000 cubic metres, less than what's needed to grow an acre of wheat, and not enough to keep 30 Spaniards going for a year.” But should this drought continue, growing worse and worse for years to come, we could see a new river, armored in metal and artificially propelled, flowing through the Mediterranean Sea.

And possibly more than one, all circulating through other seas and oceans: a braided, de-terrestrialized hydrology connecting parched landscapes and water-rich regions, knitted by climate change.


POSTSCRIPT #1: The plan is no longer being considered; it is being carried out. From The Guardian:

“The tanker Sichem Defender arrived at the port of Barcelona yesterday carrying something far more precious than its usual cargo of chemicals.

“Nearly 23m litres of drinking water - enough for 180,000 people for a day - was the first delivery in an unprecedented emergency plan to help this parched corner of Spain ahead of the holiday season.” (13 May 2008)


In the Archives:
What if Greenland was Africa's water fountain?

Future Tense:
Another New River in the Mediterranean Sea