Galicia has a reputation as Spain’s green, rainy corner — the region where umbrellas outnumber sun hats. So it might come as a surprise that in August 2026, dozens of Galician municipalities are under official drought alert, with restrictions on things like filling swimming pools, hosing down streets, and washing cars.
We wanted to understand what’s actually happening, because it doesn’t match the “always wet Galicia” image many newcomers (including us) arrive with.
A note on this article
We haven’t experienced water restrictions ourselves here in the Ribeira Sacra, so this piece is based on research and reporting from Galician and Spanish news sources rather than personal experience. We’ll update it if that changes.
What’s actually happening
Galicia’s regional government, the Xunta, declared a formal alert for water scarcity in early August 2026, covering 32 municipalities in the provinces of A Coruña, Pontevedra, and Ourense. Another 59 municipalities were placed under a lower-level “pre-alert,” bringing the total number of affected areas to 91 — roughly 430,000 residents.
The worst-affected zones are concentrated around the river basins of the Lérez and Anllóns, plus parts of the A Coruña coastline. Under alert status, local councils can restrict certain water uses: hosing down streets, filling pools, watering gardens, and in more serious cases, temporary supply cuts.
Some towns have already gone further on their own initiative. Valdoviño and Cedeira, on the north coast, have closed beach showers and limited household consumption. Santiago de Compostela has banned pool-filling and car-washing on public roads, even though the capital itself isn’t formally in pre-alert.
Why is this happening in “rainy” Galicia?
The short version: a very dry spring and summer. Despite decent rainfall in January and February 2026, precipitation dropped off sharply after that. Some weather stations recorded essentially no rain at all in July, and the combination of low rainfall and high summer temperatures caused reservoirs to drain faster than usual and river flows to fall well below normal — in some cases, flow in certain rivers dropped by more than half in a single month.
It’s a reminder that Galicia’s “green and wet” reputation, while generally accurate, doesn’t mean the region is immune to drought. Similar dry spells have hit parts of Galicia before, including a serious one affecting the Miño-Sil basin back in 2017.
Which areas are affected — and which aren’t (yet)
The alert and pre-alert zones are concentrated in:
- A Coruña province — including the Anllóns river basin, the coastal strip, and areas around Santiago’s water catchment
- Pontevedra province — the Lérez river basin, plus Baiona under equivalent measures
- Ourense province — parts of the province are included in the pre-alert group
As of this writing, Lugo province — including the Ribeira Sacra — is not listed among the affected areas. The alert system is based on river flow and reservoir levels specific to each basin, so it’s a patchwork rather than a region-wide measure. That said, officials have been clear that if the dry conditions continue, more municipalities could be added.
What restrictions actually look like
For residents in affected municipalities, the practical impact so far includes:
- No filling or topping up swimming pools
- No hosing down streets or pavements
- No washing cars on public roads
- Limits on garden watering
- In some coastal towns, closed beach showers
- Municipalities are required to report daily consumption data to Augas de Galicia, the regional water authority
None of the current measures involve mandatory household water cuts, though officials haven’t ruled out “punctual” supply interruptions if reservoir levels keep falling.
What this means if you live in Galicia
Even outside the officially affected zones, it’s worth taking the situation seriously:
- Check your local council’s announcements if you’re in A Coruña, Pontevedra, or Ourense — restrictions can be added with little notice.
- If you have a private well or borehole (common in rural areas like ours), these current measures don’t directly apply to you, but a dry summer affects groundwater levels too, so it’s sensible to be mindful of usage regardless.
- Reduced river flows can affect more than drinking water — expect knock-on effects for anything dependent on river levels, from irrigation to some tourism activities like kayaking or rafting on affected rivers.
- This is a live situation. The Xunta’s technical drought office (Oficina Técnica da Seca) reviews conditions regularly, so the list of affected municipalities can grow or shrink depending on rainfall in the coming weeks.
The bigger picture
There’s also a political dimension: Galicia’s regional government has pointed to the drought as an argument for more investment in water infrastructure, while opposition parties argue the real problem is chronic underinvestment in municipal networks, where leaks account for a significant share of water losses. Whatever the underlying causes, it’s a debate likely to continue as Galicia — like much of Spain — deals with increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns.
We’ll keep an eye on this and update if the situation changes, especially if it starts affecting Lugo or the Ribeira Sacra directly.
