MANUEL FERNANDEZ, BARCELONA
Spain's worst drought in decades forced Barcelona, one of Europe's top tourist destinations, to start shipping in drinking water yesterday.

A water tanker docked in Spain's second-largest city, launching a mission by a six-vessel flotilla to run for at least three months. The ships will provide the 5.5 million people of greater Barcelona with 6% of their monthly water consumption.

It was humbling for Catalonia, of which Barcelona is the capital. The region says it stands out for its efficiency and economic might, but it has been among the regions hardest hit by Spain's worst spring drought since record-keeping began 60 years ago.

"It has been one of the driest years ever, and Barcelona has found itself in need of water," said Leonard Carcole, director-general of Aguas de Barcelona, the city's utility.

The ship solution and a planned £139m pipeline to bring water from the Ebro River in the west are designed to help the region hang on until a desalination plant is completed in a year's time.

The facility, which will be one of Europe's biggest, is supposed to resolve many of Catalonia's water woes.

Reservoirs are at 29% of capacity, about half the average, and restrictions are in force. Fountains and beach showers have been turned off, swimming pools must be filled with recycled water and people cannot water their lawns.

A few days' rain were enough for the region's environment minister, Francesc Baltasar, to liken it to a person who is sick but recovering.

"We have left intensive care and been taken to an ordinary ward, but we are still in the hospital," he said.-AP