Augas de Galicia activates the severe shortage alert in four areas

The Presidency of Augas de Galicia has activated the alert or severe scarcity scenario in four territorial scarcity units (UTE) of the Galicia Costa Hydrographic Demarcation. The resolution, signed by Nicolás Vázquez Iglesias on November 6, 2026, and published in the Diario Oficial de Galicia number 215 on Tuesday, November 10, in section III (Other provisions), bears the official reference CVE-DOG: 3n0epzz4-m6z0-i3g6-vse7-2okvn3av0e33. The decision comes after the drought monitoring report confirmed the alert value in the four territories and the Drought Technical Office proposed the activation.

The regulatory framework of the decision

The resolution bases its competence on the Special Drought Plan of the Galicia Costa Hydrographic Demarcation, approved by the Council of the Xunta de Galicia on June 2, 2022, and published in the Diario Oficial de Galicia on July 1 of that year. This plan defines scarcity as a temporary reduction of available water that may jeopardize the meeting of demands for various socioeconomic uses.

The document is structured into territorial scarcity units (number 2 of the plan), sets hydrological indicators for each of them (number 6.2), and establishes the thresholds for activating and deactivating the scenarios (number 7.2.2). Furthermore, number 10.4.2 mandates the preparation of a monthly report analyzing the situation and evolution of the indicators and assigns the competence to activate the alert or severe scarcity scenario to the Presidency of Augas de Galicia.

The four units on alert

• UTE 01-Verdugo River, Vigo Estuary and Baiona Estuary.
• UTE 02-Pontevedra Coast.
• UTE 11-Mero River, Arteixo and A Coruña Estuary.
• UTE 14-Ferrol.

The activation therefore covers the coastline of the Vigo and Baiona estuaries, the Pontevedra coast, the A Coruña stretch from Arteixo to the city of A Coruña, and the Ferrol region. In the case of UTE 01, the measures specifically applied in the Zamáns subsystem are integrated into those corresponding to the formal alert scenario of the territorial unit, as stated in the resolution itself.

Five months of progressive worsening

The decision of November 6 is the final step in a sequence that began in the spring, with successive resolutions from Augas de Galicia:

• July 8, 2026: the general director activates the pre-alert or moderate scarcity in UTE 03-Lérez River and Pontevedra Estuary and 10-Anllóns River and A Coruña coast up to the border with Arteixo, with equivalent measures in the Baiona subsystem.
• August 11, 2026: the Presidency activates the alert or severe scarcity in UTE 03 and 10 and applies equivalent measures in the Baiona subsystem. On the same date, the director activates the pre-alert in UTE 06-Tambre River and Muros Estuary, 9-Grande River, Camariñas Estuary and A Coruña coast up to the Anllóns River, 12-Mendo River and Betanzos Estuary and 17-Landro River and Ouro River.
• September 10, 2026: pre-alert in UTE 14-Ferrol and equivalent measures in Zamáns.
• September 24, 2026: pre-alert in UTE 01, 02, 04-Umia River and Arousa Estuary, left bank, and 11.
• November 3, 2026: the drought monitoring report, with data as of September 15, confirms values typical of alert or severe scarcity in UTE 01, 02, 11 and 14.
• November 5, 2026: the Drought Technical Office meets and proposes activation.

The resolution is published three days after that meeting and barely a week before the new scenario deploys its effects on the water supplies of that territorial area.

Why it matters

The alert or severe scarcity is the threshold that the Special Drought Plan of the Galicia Costa Hydrographic Demarcation reserves for situations in which hydrological indicators already compromise the capacity to meet demands. With the four affected UTEs, practically the entire western and northern Galician coastal arc falls under a more restrictive water management regime, which directly affects municipalities, urban supply services, and economic activities that depend on the resource.

Source: Official Gazette of Galicia, no. 215, November 10, 2026, section III (Other provisions), pp. 56410-56412 (official reference: CVE-DOG: 3n0epzz4-m6z0-i3g6-vse7-2okvn3av0e33).