Dry winter drains reservoirs, ruins crops in Spain, Portugal

By EMILIO MORENATTI
Associated Press

ACEREDO, Spain (AP) — Large sections of Spain are experiencing extreme or prolonged drought, with rainfall this winter at only one-third of the average in recent years. The situation is similar in neighboring Portugal, where 45% of the country is now enduring “severe” or “extreme” drought. Farmers fear that crops could be ruined this season. Low water levels in reservoirs are also revealing villages abandoned when valleys were flooded for hydroelectric dams. Fights over water rights are erupting, including an environmental dispute with farmers near Doñana National Park, a World Heritage wetland. Spain plans to use over 570 million euros ($647 million) in European Union pandemic recovery funds to make its irrigation systems more efficient.