No rain in Spain!

The toughest drought in Spain for at least 40 years has set region against region, north against south and government against opposition. Barcelona nearly ran out of water earlier this year causing the city authroities to switch offthe fountains. While the government of Catalonia pleaded for water to be transferred from rivers like the Ebro, in neighbouring regions, the city had to import mega-litres of water from France and accelerate work on the giant desalination plant in teh suburbs. This will (hopefully within 18 months)provide Barcelona with 180,000 cubic metres of water a day.