In Spain, Dozens Of Villages Struggle For Drinking Water

Less than two hours from Madrid, 76-year-old Francisca Benitez has to brush her teeth every night with bottled water because her village has no supply of drinking water

Lastras de Cullar, Spain, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jul, 2021 ) :Less than two hours from Madrid, 76-year-old Francisca Benitez has to brush her teeth every night with bottled water because her village has no supply of drinking water.

In Lastras de Cuellar in the central Castilla y Leon region, nitrates and arsenic have made the water undrinkable for the village's residents, who number 350 in winter and nearly 1,000 in summer.

And across the country, dozens of villages are suffering the same fate because groundwater resources are at risk from agricultural pollution, a lack of water quality controls and drought.

Every Monday, the villagers walk to the main square in Lastras to buy multipacks of mineral water in 1.5 litre bottles, sold at a discounted price, which some take away in wheelbarrows.

Alejandro Martin, 17, is there to help his 95-year-old grandfather bring home the precious resource which is then poured into a pan so they can prepare coffee.

Outside, clusters of empty plastic bottles dangle from the balconies alongside banners demanding access to drinking water.

"This is not normal in the 21st century!" protests Mercedes Rodriguez, 41, who belongs to a local residents association.

Mayor Andres Garcia also points to the "lack of (public) funding" which has slowed down a project to ensure drinking water supplies by the end of the year.

In Castilla y Leon alone, 63 municipalities were without running water in March, according to the region's main television station.

National figures are not available.

According to the health ministry, a 2019 study of national water resources found that 67,050 samples -- some taken from the same place on different dates -- were undrinkable.