Spain's Hidden Water Crisis: Illegal Aquifer Drilling

Key vocabulary

• acuíferom.

  underground water reserve

  “Los acuíferos son depósitos de agua bajo la tierra.”— Aquifers are water deposits under the ground.

  Pattern acuífero subterráneo underground aquifer

  Compare depósito de agua water reservoir

  plural acuíferos

  💡 From Latin aqua (water) + ferre (to carry), 'thing that carries water'.

• sacarv.

  to extract, take out

  “Muchas personas sacan agua de los acuíferos sin permiso.”— Many people extract water from aquifers without permission.

  Pattern sacar agua to draw water

  Compare extraer to extract

  yo saco, tú sacas, él saca

  💡 Everyday expression, as in sacar la basura (take out the trash); here it means to draw water.

• regarv.

  to irrigate

  “Esta agua se usa para regar cultivos.”— This water is used to irrigate crops.

  Pattern regar cultivos to irrigate crops

  Compare irrigar to irrigate

  yo riego, tú riegas, él riega

  💡 Note the stem change e→ie in conjugation, as in riego. The noun is riego (irrigation).

• robom.

  theft, robbery

  “Es un robo de agua.”— It is a water theft.

  Pattern robo de agua water theft

  Compare hurto theft

  plural robos

  💡 From the verb robar (to steal), similar to English rob.

• delitom.

  crime, offense

  “Es un delito ambiental extendido e impune.”— It is a widespread and unpunished environmental crime.

  Pattern delito ambiental environmental crime

  Compare crimen crime

  plural delitos

  💡 Legal term, less serious than crimen, referring to an illegal act.

• impuneadj.

  unpunished

  “Es un delito ambiental extendido e impune.”— It is a widespread and unpunished environmental crime.

  Pattern quedar impune to go unpunished

  Compare sin castigo without punishment

  singular impune, plural impunes

  💡 From Latin impunis, im- (not) + poena (punishment).

• pozom.

  well

  “Un juez cerró un caso de pozos ilegales.”— A judge closed a case of illegal wells.

  Pattern pozo ilegal illegal well

  Compare perforación drilling

  plural pozos

  💡 Common word, as in pozo de agua (water well).

• dañom.

  damage, harm

  “No se probó el daño al acuífero.”— The damage to the aquifer was not proven.

  Pattern daño al medio ambiente damage to the environment

  Compare perjuicio harm

  plural daños

  💡 From Latin damnum, cognate with English damage.

Grammar spotlight

Sentence patterns to steal

• No son casos aislados, sino un problema general.

  These are not isolated cases, but a general problem.

  No es/son + noun + sino + nounYou can replace casos aislados and problema general with other contrasting nouns.

• Es un delito ambiental extendido e impune.

  It is a widespread and unpunished environmental crime.

  Es un + noun + adj. + e + adj.You can replace delito ambiental with other nouns and extendido e impune with other adjectives.

• Esta agua se usa para regar cultivos.

  This water is used to irrigate crops.

  se usa para + infinitiveYou can replace regar cultivos with other verb phrases, such as beber, cocinar, etc.