Catalonia's reservoirs
Sau reservoir: water level today
How much water Sau reservoir on the Ter river holds today: the Catalan Water Agency's (ACA) daily figure, with the date of each reading, and what the level did over the past year.
Level today
73.6% full
122.12 hm³ of 165.81 hm³ capacity
Water level: 416.99 m above sea level
ACA reading of 28 Oct 2026, the latest when this page was generated.
Source: Generalitat de Catalunya, Catalan Water Agency (ACA) open data. Figures pending validation by the ACA. Reservoir status on the ACA website (Catalan/Spanish)
Reservoir facts
- River
- Ter
- Municipalities
- Vilanova de Sau, les Masies de Roda, Tavertet, l'Esquirol
- Comarca (county)
- Osona
- Capacity
- 165.81 hm³ (ACA, 28 Oct 2026)
- Run by
- Catalan Water Agency (ACA)
- Opened
- 1963
- Dam height
- 83 m from the foundation
- Basin (ACA)
- El Ter · Alt Ter
The past year
A year earlier, on 28 Oct 2025, Sau reservoir was 55.9% full (92.68 hm³). In this page's latest reading, of 28 Oct 2026, it is 73.6% full (122.12 hm³): 17.7 points more.
In the 365 days to 28 Oct 2026, the lowest level was 40.8%, on 20 Dec 2025, and the highest 98.7%, on 7 Mar 2026.
The table gives one reading a month, on day 28 (or the closest valid day before it). It is what happened, not a forecast.
| Reading | Full | Volume (hm³) |
|---|---|---|
| 55.9% | 92.68 | |
| 50.4% | 83.60 | |
| 67.1% | 111.34 | |
| 94.7% | 157.04 | |
| 87.4% | 144.86 | |
| 86.6% | 143.58 | |
| 88.6% | 146.87 | |
| 91.7% | 152.13 | |
| 89.2% | 147.95 | |
| 80.3% | 133.20 | |
| 74.6% | 123.75 | |
| 68.7% | 113.96 | |
| 73.6% | 122.12 |
What it is for
According to the ACA, Sau's main purpose is water supply for Barcelona and its metropolitan area, Girona and Costa Brava towns, irrigation along the Ter and hydroelectric power. It is the uppermost dam of the Sau-Susqueda-el Pasteral system, from which water is taken to the Cardedeu treatment plant. It also regulates floods and is used for recreation.
The reservoir on the ACA website (Spanish)
How it relates to drought
Drought restrictions do not depend on any single reservoir. The ACA's drought plan sets the stage of the Ter-Llobregat unit from three indicators: the combined reserves of Sau, Susqueda, la Llosa del Cavall, Sant Ponç and la Baells; those of the Ter (Sau and Susqueda); and those of the Llobregat (la Llosa del Cavall, Sant Ponç and la Baells). The unit takes the worst of the three, and the combined one is the main indicator.
The thresholds are volumes in hm³; some change with the month and apply from the 1st of each month. Pre-alert is still normal: the plan only provides for restrictions from the alert stage on.
| Stage | Threshold (hm³) |
|---|---|
| Pre-alert | 367 |
| Alert | 210 (Oct–Jan), 240 (Feb), 270 (Mar–Jul), 240 (Aug), 210 (Sep) |
| Exceptional | 145 |
| Emergency I | 100 |
| Emergency II | 67 |
| Emergency III | 33 |
| Stage | Threshold (hm³) |
|---|---|
| Pre-alert | 200 |
| Alert | 120 (Oct–Jan), 140 (Feb), 160 (Mar–Jul), 140 (Aug), 120 (Sep) |
| Exceptional | 85 |
| Emergency I | 65 |
| Emergency II | 43 |
| Emergency III | 14 |
Reserves the drought plan counts
- Combined Ter-Llobregat reserves: 481.1 hm³ (reading of 28 Oct 2026)
- Ter reserves (Sau and Susqueda): 310.7 hm³ (reading of 28 Oct 2026)
Reserves falling below a threshold declare nothing by themselves: each stage is declared by an ACA resolution. For today's stage in each area, see the ACA's drought declarations (in Catalan).
How to read these figures
The percentage is the stored volume divided by the reservoir's capacity. One hm³ (cubic hectometre) is a million cubic metres, a billion litres. The water level is the height of the water surface above sea level.
The ACA publishes one reading per reservoir per day on the Generalitat's open-data portal. The current day's figures are pending validation, which is why every figure carries its date.
On some days the ACA publishes more than 100%: the reservoir holds more water than its nominal capacity. We show those as they are.
Questions
- How full is Sau reservoir today?
- Today's figure is at the top of the page, with the date of the reading. The Catalan Water Agency publishes it every day on the Generalitat's open-data portal.
- What is the capacity of Sau reservoir?
- 165.81 hm³, according to the ACA's reservoir status of 28 Oct 2026.
- Which river is Sau reservoir on?
- The Ter, covering land in Vilanova de Sau, les Masies de Roda, Tavertet, l'Esquirol.
- Does Sau reservoir count for drought restrictions?
- Yes, as part of Ter-Llobregat: that unit's drought stage depends on the combined reserves of the system's five reservoirs and on those of the Ter and the Llobregat separately. Each stage is declared by an ACA resolution.
Sources
Official sources, checked on 28 Oct 2026.
- Quantitat d’aigua als embassaments de les Conques Internes de Catalunya — Agència Catalana de l'Aigua (ACA)(daily data; read on 28 Oct 2026)
- Quantitat d'aigua als embassaments de les conques internes de Catalunya (dades en temps de registre) — Agència Catalana de l'Aigua (ACA)(station code and basin)
- Estat dels embassaments de conques internes (butlletí diari, PDF) — Agència Catalana de l'Aigua (ACA)(capacities, 28 Oct 2026)
- Preses i embassaments — Agència Catalana de l'Aigua (ACA)(municipalities and uses, updated 07.07.2025)
- La gestió dels embassaments de Catalunya — Agència Catalana de l'Aigua (ACA)(river, dam and purpose, December 2021)
- Pla de gestió del districte de conca fluvial de Catalunya 2022-2027, annex VI — Agència Catalana de l'Aigua (ACA)(Ter, Siurana and Riudecanyes systems)
- Pla especial d'actuació en situació d'alerta i eventual sequera (text consolidat) — Agència Catalana de l'Aigua (ACA)(drought units and thresholds)