Section 05
The island's real constraint
Aquifers, torrents and the seasonal load.
- 01An island that drinks from underneathMallorca depends on groundwater, and over-extraction near the coast draws seawater into the aquifer — a process that is measured and slow to reverse.
- 02Riverbeds that are dry until they are notThe torrents run only after heavy rain, which is why they are built over and why flooding here arrives all at once.
- 03Four months carrying twelveWater and waste load concentrate into the summer, so infrastructure is sized for a third of the year and idle for the rest.
Drawn
The pressure problem in section: fresh water floats on salt, and lowering the fresh head lets the wedge move inland.
Elsewhere