On Wednesday, Palma town hall informed various neighbourhood associations that the Emaya municipal services agency will not be supplying water for fiesta events that involve large amounts of water.
There are half a dozen of these events, the best known of which is the massive Canamunt v. Canavall water fight in Parc de la Mar. Held in late August, Emaya has been supplying 18,000 litres of water since its inception in 2016. Inflatable pools are filled with water so that the combatants can fill their water pistols.
The town hall's reason is that there is a pre-alert for drought. It explains that Emaya is following guidelines set out by the Balearic government's water resources directorate. These are to save as much water as possible when there is a pre-emergency situation due to drought.
The organisers of the Parc de la Mar event, the Orgull Llonguet collective, say that they understand the reason but that they won't let this prevent them from staging it. However, the only options that they and other associations have are either to cancel or to pay for a water truck.
While appreciating that there is the pre-alert, Orgull Llonguet and the Palma federation of residents associations are critical of the town hall, given that swimming pools continue to be filled up and golf courses are being irrigated. The federation adds that the measure affects "citizen activity" when far greater quantities of water are being used to supply tourist areas of the city.
As to the use of water trucks, the federation notes that this could potentially be wasteful as not all of the water will be needed. For safety reasons, the trucks need to discharge whole loads; they cannot circulate with part loads. If water remains unused for events, it will end up going down the drains.
The water fight in Parc de la Mar is self-funding through the sale of t-shirts and drinks on the day. Laura Velilla for Orgull Llonguet explains that although the town hall hasn't yet given its final approval for this year's event, it has indicated that there won't be a problem - except where its supply of water is concerned.
Palma certainly isn't the only place where large quantities of water are used for fiesta events. One is scheduled for Saturday, Petra's 'Clovelles' almond shell and water battle. Petra town hall hasn't said anything about water restrictions.
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A sensible decision by the Town Hall. Ridiculous to plan a water fight when drought conditions are upon us. Actually with clean water becoming an increasingly important and valuable commodity, is there any place going forwards for such an event? Surely it sends out the wrong message. We need to conserve not waste water and everyone can play their part in that.