From January, users of sports centers will no longer be able to shower in the changing rooms. This is one of the new measures that will be activated if the Generalitat orders entry into the emergency scenario, the most restrictive phase of the Special Plan for Drought (PES), if there is no rain. In fact, this Monday, the Minister of Climate Action, David Mascort, called on the Catalan population to stop doing this because the water consumption is “much higher” than a shower at home. “Now it is a proposal, in January it will be a commitment,” explained the advisor. However, the exercise and sports sector does not welcome this new restriction.
Iolanda Latorre, executive director of the Association of Catalan Fitness Club Companies (Adecaf), stressed on the phone that it is a “unilateral and useless measure because it harms the sector and does no one any good.” The Catalan board explains that they have asked the Secretary General of Sport to meet with Mascort as they have already expected the showers to be closed and want to propose other solutions. “They have once again acted without regard for us and in complete ignorance. In gyms we are already taking measures to reduce consumption. There are aerators that reduce the flow, and the shower heads are equipped with timers that stop the showering process,” says Latorre, who recalls that showers in gyms use between 40 and 60 liters, compared to 100 liters in household toilets.
The emergency phase allows the irrigation of association sports such as football and the filling of public swimming pools. Something that Salvador Valls, president of the Consell Esportiú del Baix Llobregat, celebrates: “During the pandemic we were not treated like this. This time we had the sensitivity to appreciate the importance of swimming pools. “The world of sports has shown that we are essential in people's daily lives and for their health,” Valls says by phone, but emphasizes that hygiene is “a main need” when practicing sports.
The possible decrease in monthly payments is another major issue that worries Latorre, since the full service will not be available to users: “We have to deal with it in order to respect consumer rights.” And he emphasizes: “People shower in the Gym quickly to continue her day. This measure uses more water. “I don’t know if they want him not to go to the gym.”
The cuts in the discharges of the Llobregat, Ter and Muga rivers are part of the new package of measures announced yesterday by the Catalan executive and will come into force in January, when the reservoirs of the internal hydrographic basins are expected to contain 16% of their capacity. . The government is also considering the possibility of bringing water by boat to the port of Barcelona to ensure the consumption of the almost six million inhabitants of the Barcelona area of influence and some cities in Girona. “We know these are decisions that many will not like, but the situation is complicated and requires such difficult decisions,” Mascort said.
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