Hydrologists have firmly rejected plans by the Xunta de Galicia for new reservoirs. The trigger was recent statements by Environment and Climate Minister Ángeles Vázquez, who raised the prospect of additional storage at the end of summer 2026 as a response to recurring dry spells. According to consistent reports in regional media, including elDiario.es, experts argue that too many rivers in Galicia are already dammed and that additional reservoirs would mainly increase evaporation in a warming climate.
The experts also warn of an “illusion of abundance”: larger or additional reservoirs could create the political and economic impression that water is plentiful, thereby driving up consumption. In reality, they say, this often amounts merely to shifting river flows over time. The short courses of many Galician rivers and existing cross-river structures limit the scope for making more water genuinely available for use.
The debate comes amid a tense situation following a dry summer, during which numerous municipalities issued alert levels. Responsibility for drought management in the coastal catchment area Galicia Costa lies with the Xunta de Galicia; the major river basin district Miño-Sil is, by contrast, managed by the central government. This division of responsibilities means that measures must be assessed and coordinated differently across the regions.
As evidence of ongoing work, the Xunta de Galicia points to works at the Eiras, which supplies the metropolitan area of Vigo . Temporary fittings were installed there in spring, and permanent components were due to follow by the end of summer, according to the government. The administration also stresses that Augas de Galicia coordinates planning, operations and permits within its remit.
Independent experts counter that efficiency strategies should be exhausted before new large-scale construction: reducing losses in the supply network, modernising networks, more precise control of water abstraction, consistently limiting demand during dry periods, and carefully assessing groundwater potential on ecological grounds. Additional reservoirs would place pressure on rivers, fragment habitats and alter sediment transport – interventions with long-term effects on fish stocks and water quality, and high operating and follow-on costs.
Political assurances about supplies to individual urban areas, such as Vigo, therefore sit uneasily between short-term security and long-term ecological risks. The reports conclude that, in the current expert view, rapidly building more dams is neither the most effective nor the most sustainable response to drought; what is needed instead is management, efficiency and a robust approach to the infrastructure already in place.
Editor: Andreas M. Brucker (Article created with AI assistance).