Vacarisses

The heat may come, but backyard pools won't be refilled in northeastern Spain this summer

The heat may come, but backyard pools won't be refilled in northeastern Spain this summer

Water management is becoming a hot topic as Spain gears up for regional and municipal elections this month and a national vote later in the year, as farmers and other industries vie for an increasingly scarce resource. Spain has one swimming pool for every 37 residents, and these, too, are now in the spotlight. In Vacarisses, a scattered town of more than a dozen subdivisions with views of the Montserrat mountain range, residents are bracing for another difficult summer after enduring 16-hour water cuts last year when aquifers ran dry.