The Llobregat river It is a tributary of Spain, located specifically in the territory corresponding to the autonomous community of Catalonia, in the extreme northwest of the country. It has an approximate length of 156 km and covers an area of 4,948 kmtwo of the Catalan territory. At its mouth it forms a delta that occupies an area of approximately 100 kmtwo and has a length of 23 km that extends to the Mediterranean Sea.
With an average flow of 19 m3/ s, the Llobregat river is a fundamental axis for the economic and social development of the region. 70% of its surface waters are used for the irrigation of intensive crops, making use of canals such as those of Dreta and Infanta, located in its delta..
In the area of the Llobregat basin there are salt mines, whose commercial exploitation and natural washing due to the effect of rainfall increases the salinity of its waters.
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There are archaeological records between 10,000 and 6000 BC. C. that indicate the presence of human groups settled in the Llobregat basin. These remains show an advanced cultural and economic development.
A tomb was found that proves the existence of religious rituals, as well as evidence of the cultivation of cereals and legumes. Among the discoveries, the domestication of goats for the use of their resources (mainly meat and skin) and the mining of Calaíta for ornamental purposes stand out..
From the 4th century BC. C., the region witnessed the emergence and consolidation of Roman towns dedicated to mining, agriculture, metallurgy and wine production. Efforts to modernize the infrastructure of the Llobregat basin territory began in 1716, with the construction of the road to link Madrid with Barcelona and France..
In the second half of the 19th century the region experienced a population explosion. The inhabitants were attracted to the area by the jobs generated by the textile industry. The populations known as “industrial colonies” grew up around the factories located on the banks of the Llobregat, seeking to take advantage of the hydraulic energy of the water to move the looms..
The 20th century gave a new impetus to the region with an increase in electricity production. This attracted technological, metallurgical, chemical and construction industries to the area..
In 1819 the Canal de la Infanta Carlota was inaugurated, the first successful engineering work to take advantage of the Llobregat water for irrigation.
In September 1962 the waters of the Llobregat river left its channel, generating floods that caused millions in losses and the death of at least 600 people, in addition to an undetermined number of injured and missing. Almost ten years later, in 1971, another flood of the Llobregat affected Barcelona, leaving in its wake 21 deaths and a great economic loss.
In 1998 the exploitation of the salt mines began by the Iberpotash company and raw ore dumps accumulated that could not be placed on the market. In measurements carried out in 2016, it was estimated that the Cogulló mountain of rubble was 500 meters high and occupied an area of 50 hectares.
In 2004 a part of the river delta was diverted to start the expansion works of the port of Barcelona. But it was not until September 2015 that the Spanish Supreme Court requested the closure of the Cogulló dump in the Sallent mine..
At the same time, a court in Manresa, capital of the Bages region, indicted individuals who held high positions in Iberpotash and in the public administration of Catalonia for environmental crimes.
In January 2018 Enrico Brivio, Commissioner for the Environment of the European Union, sent a report to the Spanish government requesting that they take action to control the pollution produced by the discharges from the Súria and Sallent salt mines in the Llobregat river basin..
The letter warns that the inaction of the national government may generate measures against Spain in the Court of Justice of the European Union.
During the spring, the Llobregat forms a spectacle of waterfalls at its head, cataloged as one of the most beautiful in Spain. In its thaw stage, the water seeps into the aquifers and once filled, they form the springs that feed it, gushing through volcanic rocks in the Catalan Pyrenees..
One of the most important uses of the Llobregat water is the percentage that is dedicated to human consumption. To collect the water in the best possible condition, the La Baells reservoir was built, located in Pobla de Lillet. It has a capacity of 115 million m3 that supplies Barcelona and its metropolitan area since the 1970s.
The water from the Llobregat river is used for various uses: 70% is dedicated to meeting the needs of agriculture, 19% is invested in urban use, 9% for industrial use and the remaining 2% meets the needs of the livestock industry. Its waters occupy 100 kmtwo. Wetlands and the most fertile lands of the basin are located in the area.
The Llobregat river rises at 1,295 meters above sea level in the Sierra del Cadí, in the Castellar de Nuch municipality in the Bergadá region.
Going down the Sierra del Cadí, the Llobregat crosses steep slopes that generate impressive waterfalls that are followed by tourists. This natural event occurs especially in spring, during the thaw.
Before reaching La Pobla de Lillet, in the Berguedá region -the first town that it finds-, the Llobregat moves through narrow and deep channels carved in the calcareous rocks.
Starting in the Berga municipality of the Barcelona province, the Llobregat ends its mountain route and enters the plain, which is formed at the foot of the Sierra de Queralt.
On the journey to its mouth, the community runs from north to south, bathing 28 municipalities in the regions of Berguedá, Bages and Bajo Llobregat with its waters, until it reaches the Mediterranean Sea through its delta..
Wastewater from industries and cities that proliferated on the banks of the Llobregat River from the 19th and 20th centuries carry organic and inorganic compounds such as nickel, pesticides, chloroform, antibiotics, hormones and anti-inflammatories into their waters..
Drug contamination indicated by the presence of drugs in river water seriously affects aquatic ecosystems. An alarming evidence is the record of alterations in the reproductive systems of amphibians and fish.
Solid waste from the cities on its banks is carried by water and accumulates in areas of the coastal plain, generating overflows. These events occur frequently during floods.
The exploitation of the salt mines located in the Bages region generates an unusual type of contamination in the rivers, the contamination of salts. Although the geological constitution of the basin makes the Llobregat a more "salty" channel than its Catalan counterparts, this is not the origin of the salt contamination that affects the river.
It is the product of the filtration of runoff waters and leachates from the mountain of rubble, resulting from mining. The Iberpotash company did not carry out the waterproofing works in the area where they projected the accumulation of debris, thereby affecting the underground and surface waters of the Llobregat basin.
Salt contamination decreases the quality of the water, since when it is treated with chlorine to eliminate harmful agents such as viruses and bacteria, it generates bromine, an element that can alter the health of consumers.
Industrial developments along the Llobregat river have been one of the engines for the economic advancement of the country. Since ancient times, in the Llobregat basin, agricultural activities, textile industries and hydroelectric plants have been installed and developed that have promoted economic growth and with it the social development of the region..
The most important area for agricultural production is the Lower Llobregat Agrarian Park, an area protected by the Barcelona Provincial Council that groups 2,938 hectares belonging to 14 municipalities. The most important crops are cherry, cauliflower, radish, melon, onion, plum, carrot, leek, tomato, apple, chard, artichoke, pear and lettuce.
In the region of Bages there are grape crops destined for the production of wine. Despite the fact that its cultivation area is very small, its product is recognized as one of the best wines in Catalonia..
Currently, tourism companies proliferate in the Llobregat basin area. They offer nautical activities in the waters of the river and guided visits to museums and industrial facilities that have witnessed the economic development of the region..
Tours of the industrial colonies promoted by the Industrial Revolution from the second half of the 19th century are common. Tourism produces 10% of the region's economic income.
One of the issues that worries the Catalan Water Agency and the Catalan administration is that the consumptive uses of the river's waters are putting the economic growth expected in the area at risk..
The extraction of the resource from the aquifers, added to the pressure generated by the progressive increase in the population, places the channel in a condition of overexploitation with a deficit of 5.6 mm3/year.
In order to cover this deficit, actions have been proposed to regenerate and reuse wastewater. The reclaimed water would be redirected to the canals to be used to irrigate crops. Water for irrigation is essential in the dry period, since the river flow decreases to 0.8m3/ s.
On its way to the Mediterranean Sea, the waters of the Llobregat touch the shores of small towns with a range of between 500 and 85,000 inhabitants. The most important population concentrations are found in the river delta.
Some of the major cities that the river touches on its way to the Mediterranean Sea adopted its name. These cities are:
Cornellá de Llobregat, in the extreme northeast of the delta, with 87,173 inhabitants; San Baudilio de Llobregat, located in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, with 82,904 inhabitants; Prat de Llobregat, located in the Bajo Llobregat region, with 64,132 inhabitants; and finally Sallent de Llobregat, in the Bages region, gets its name from the river that divides it in half.
Other important cities are Manresa, capital of the Bages region, located at the confluence of the Cardener river with the Llobregat. It has 76,250 inhabitants. Gavá, located in the Bajo Llobregat region, is in the Llobregat delta and registers 46,705 inhabitants. Finally review Puigreig, located in the Bergadá region, where 40,039 people live.
On its journey through the territory of the autonomous community of Catalonia, the Llobregat receives contributions from the Cardener, Saldes, Mergançol, Anoia, Peguera, Mura, Arija, Riera de Magarola, Santa Creu, Cervelló, Vallvidrera, Torrelles rivers. Rubí, Calders, Bastareny, Cornet, Morral del Molí and Gavarresa.
Despite population and industrial pressure throughout the basin, areas of original vegetation are still conserved. Among the most common species in the region are red pine, black jonquil, castanet, plantation, cattail, oak, duckweed, fir, reed bed, milk thistle, American fern, beech, water grass, stone pine, peach grass, beach weeds, reed, thornbush, lagartera, American cane and common bulrush.
The 100 kmtwo delta del Llobregat are visited by numerous species of migratory birds on their journey between Europe and Africa. It is estimated that the delta area is used by some 360 species of birds to nest and rest during the winter, among them the owl, kingfisher, gray heron, ringed plover, red hawk, gray heron, ducks, kestrel, cormorant, hawk stand out. , egret, hammerhead, owl and scops owl.
Fish species abound in the river that make the area an attractive area for sport fishing. Among the most common are alburno, fartet, carp, mullet, eel, barbel and panty.
The Llobregat river basin is also rich in mammals, amphibians and reptiles, among which we can mention silver shrimp, water turtle, dwarf bat, Moorish mouse, common pond terrapin, European rabbit, common mole, leper terrapin, European hedgehog, shrew , pink gecko, dwarf moss and cinderella lizard.
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