How did Gibraltar obtain drinking water before its desalination plant was expanded?

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The Rock of Gibraltar rises steeply behind a coastal city, with green-blue water in the foreground and a partly cloudy sky above. — Gibraltar The rock of Gibraltar.

Before the expansion of its desalination plant in the 1990s, Gibraltar relied on a combination of methods to secure potable water, as the territory possesses no natural springs or rivers.1

The primary source was a large rain-catchment area created by sheeting over sand slopes above Catalan and Sandy bays. Rainwater collected from this area was stored in tanks that had been blasted directly into the Rock. To supplement this supply, the territory also utilized water pumped from wells located on the isthmus and water distilled from the sea. While the catchment area is no longer used for drinking water, it continues to serve as a service reservoir today.1