Published on 23 January 2024
The Sau Reservoir, (or Pantà De Sau) is located in Cataluña, Spain, and serves as a water source for numerous villages and towns in the area, including Barcelona. The reservoir was created by flooding an old village called Santa Romà de Sau about 60 years ago.
Recently, the water level in the Reservoir has decreased significantly, dropping to less than 6% of its capacity. This is a sharp decline compared to last year's 19% and the average January level of over 90%. As a result of the water level drop, the submerged structures of the old village, including an 11th-century church, have been exposed and stand now in dry land. Cataluña has been one of the regions in Spain most affected by drought over the last three years, with only 17% of its water reserves being available.
This image of Pantà De Sau, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites on 7 January 2024, shows the lack of water in the reservoir.
Open data retrieved by the Copernicus Sentinel satellites provide key information that is useful for accurately mapping lakes and reservoirs and extracting critical information about changes in their water levels.
Source:
Copernicus. (2024, January 17). The Sau Reservoir at worrisome water levels. Image of the Day.