Months after Spain's wildfires, scorched earth taints water sources

Record ID: 2273689

  • Title: Months after Spain's wildfires, scorched earth taints water sources
  • Date: 14th November 2025
  • Summary: VILAMARTIN DE VALDEORRAS, GALICIA, SPAIN (NOVEMBER 7, 2025) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF HOME DESTROYED BY WILDFIRE TAXI DRIVER AND VOLUNTEER, SIMON RODRIGUEZ, PLACING WATER JUGS ON BACK OF TRUCK VAN DRIVING IN SCORCHED MOUNTAINS RODRIGUEZ GIVING WATER JUGS TO PERSON WHO DOESN’T HAVE ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) TAXI DRIVER AND VOLUNTEER, SIMON RODRIGUEZ,
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Galicia Spain Valdeorras pollution river wildfires
  • Location: VILAMARTIN DE VALDEORRAS, GALICIA, SPAIN
  • City: VILAMARTIN DE VALDEORRAS, GALICIA, SPAIN
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Europe,Wildfires/Forest Fires
  • Reuters ID: LVA001108611112025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:PART AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING
    Taxi driver Simon Rodriguez drove in roads surrounded by burnt trees and blackened soil as he carried jugs of water on the back of his car.
    The fires of Spain and Portugal's record-smashing summer scorched these hillsides in August, and rural communities in Galicia, Spain are still battling the aftermath from the repeat risk of water contamination, as the autumn rains wash ash and sediment downhill, clogging waterways and making drinking water unsafe.
    "We can't shower because the water is completely black. I haven't showered in two days. We have to wait for the rain to stop before we can shower," Rodriguez, 33, says on a delivery route bringing drinking water to residents in municipality of Villamartín de Valdeorras, who have been advised since October to avoid using the darkened water for cooking or drinking.
    The fires torched forests and shrubbery across hundreds of thousands of acres in both countries. Across Galicia, just exposed rocks remain on blackened slopes. In late October as the seasonal rains picked up, Rodriguez' area began experiencing powerful wash-outs, as the entire vegetative layer which had turned to ash began to clog the sandtraps — locally referred to as areneros — that decant rainwater to prevent debris from reaching the water line, feeding the reservoir.
    The areneros are now completely clogged with ash. Local crews hiked in three times daily to scoop out heavy sediment. The water pollution has affected dozens of towns across the Leon, Lugo and Orense provinces, the mayor of Vilamartín de Valdeorras Council, Enrique Álvarez Barreiro said. 
    With the natural vegetative sponge layer of Galicia's hillsides reduced to ash, residents are concerned this will lead to future water shortage issues in years ahead, as the rainfall is carried into streams and rivers, instead of percolating into the local aquifer. 
    The ash that is carried downhill into these waterways towards coastlines.
    Álvarez Barreiro's municipality is planning to take protective measures by drone seeding to protect the areneros. It will cost about 12,000 euros ($11,662) for an area of approximately 40 hectares.
    According to Javier Montalvo, an ecology professor at Vigo University, this technology will enable workers to regenerate ground layers lost to the fire, preventing further water pollution and protecting groundwater.
    (Production: Nacho Doce, Nina Lopez)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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