Hydraulic Policy in Spain Teodoro Estrela Deputy Water Director Ministry of Environment, and Rural and Marine Affairs Spain

Transcription

1 Hydraulic Policy in Spain Teodoro Estrela Deputy Water Director Ministry of Environment, and Rural and Marine Affairs Spain

2 Contents Introduction Historical Evolution Basic principles of the current Water Administration in Spain Diagnosis and Strategic Actions

3 Introduction

4 Water resources in Spain Precipitación (mm) Evapotranspiración real (mm) Escorrentía (mm) Mean annual precipitation (mm) mm/año Precipitation, actual evapotranspiration and runoff in Spain in mm (period ) Mean annual runoff (mm)

5 Water demands in Spain Main water demand zones Main cities Axes of large rivers Mediterranean coastal area Main water demand corresponds to irrigation

6 Historical evolution

7 Historical Evolution Water Act 13 June 1879: water is an unlimited resource which uses require water works. National Plan of Hydraulic Works 1902 (Gasset Plan): catalogue of 296 dams and channels with limited studies. Creation of Confederaciones Sindicales Hidrológicas (previous to current River Basin Organizations) in Implementation of basin management concept.

8 Historical evolution National Hydraulic Work Plan 1933: Creation of Centre for Hydrographic Studies. 379 dams and 132 channels for transforming new irrigation hectares including water transfer Tagus-Segura. Although it is not approved a great deal of actions will be developed in next years. General Plan of Hydraulic Works 1940 (Plan Peña): reconstruction period: ha in 17 years.

9 Transfers Scheme of 1933 Plan Water transfer Tagus- Segura Júcar Canal (current Jucar- Turia) Turia Canal (current canal Campo del Turia)..

10 Historical evolution of hydraulic works Capacidad acumulada de embalse (hm 3 ) Capacidad Número Número acumulado de presas Evolution since 1900 of number of constructed dams and reservoir capacity Map of main supply and irrigation infrastructures Map of dams with capacity greater than 10 hm 3

11 Basic principles of the current Water Administration in Spain

12 Legal Framework WATER ACT OF 1985 ITS UPDATES, AND REGULATORY DECREES Water Public Domain Decree Hydrological Planning and Water Public Administration Decree. Hydrological Planning Decree. Decrees of river basin districts, committees of competent authorities, water reuse NATIONAL HYDROLOGICAL PLAN LAW WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE AND ITS TRANSPOSITION (Modification of the Water Act and Hydrological Planning Decree) GENERAL STATE AND REGIONAL LEGISLATION (environment, land planning, nature reserves etc.).

13 Basic Principles River basins as management units Hydrological planning Integrated Water Resources Management Users and public participation

14 Management at the basin unit ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK Autonomous regions MANAGEMENT UNITS River basin districts

15 Spanish-Portuguese basins Trans-boundary basins in Spain and Portugal represent 46% of the Iberian mainland surface. The Albufeira Agreement was signed in 1998 to improve the cooperation between Portugal and Spain, in order to encourage the sustainable use of shared water courses The Agreement was modified in 2008: Seasonal flow regime Establishment of a Permanent Technical Secretariat to be alternated between Lisbon and Madrid

16 Hydrological Planning Hydrological planning is carried out through River Basin Management Plans and the National Hydrological Plan. Plans are mandatory (approved by Law-National- and Decrees-Basins-). They represent basic rules for the protection of water and for providing water use rights. Hydrological plans are developed in coordination with different sector plans. Participation is a basic requirement (other administrative entities, users, interested participants, citizens, NGOs, etc.)

17 Hydrological planning objectives Good status and suitable protection of hydraulic public domain and water. Water demand satisfaction. Balance and harmonization of regional and sectorial development, increasing availability of the resource, protecting its quality, economizing and rationalizing its use in harmony with the environment and other natural resources.

18 Diagnosis and strategic actions

19 Diagnosis Sanitation and purification shortage Contamination by industrial disposal Sanitation and purification shortage Compatibilization of environmental flows regime with water use system Morphological alterations in beds Quality in rivers and reservoirs Foreign species in Vegas Altas Strong exploitation of aquifers in central region of Duero Insufficient guarantees for new demands Madrid's water supply Resources retirement and affection of wetlands Resources shortage in head waters Aquifer exploitation Mancha Oriental Guarantee and efficiency in traditional irrigation in Júcar Overexploitation in Vinalopó Intrusion of foreign species. Mejilón Cebra Contamination by urban and industrial disposal. Flix Environmental flows in Delta del Ebro Aquifer pollution by nitrates Insufficient guarantee ATS Sanitation and purification shortage Eutrophication Mar Menor Pressure caused by olive plantation irrigation Aquifer overexploitation (Guadalentín, altiplano )

20 Basin management plans Sector plans and programs: National Quality Plan, Special Droughts and Flooding Plans, River Bed Restoration National Strategy, Efficient water use technologies: irrigation modernization, urban use efficiency Non conventional resources: desalination and water reuse Climate change adaptation Strategic actions

21 River Basin Planning process

22 National Water Quality Plan The Council of Ministers approved the 8 th of June of 2007 the National Water Quality Plan: sanitation and purification ". Total foreseen investment of the Plan is of approximately million euros. Plan development: bilateral agreement and protocols with Autonomous Regions.

23 Territorial scope: River basin management plans Promoter organ: River Basin Authorities. General objective: minimize environmental, economic and social impacts of droughts. Situation in planning process: specific plan that is framed in the scope of river basin management plans. Approval: OM of MMA. Publication in BOE 23/03/2007 Special drought management plans

24 Efficiency improvement. Water use under demand. Sustainability in agriculture (quality of life improvement) Irrigation modernization

25 Sea water desalination Modular solution independent of climatology Possible environmental impact of brines on posidoneas meadows Elevated energy cost and consumption

26 Reuse: legislative frame In December 2007, the Royal Decree for Purified Water Reuse (RD 1620/2007, 7 th of December) was enacted, establishing the legal status for the reuse of purified water: It determines necessary requirements for the development of reuse of regenerated water. It establishes procedures to obtain the concession demanded in the Law. It gathers the compulsory minimum quality criteria necessary for the reuse of regenerated water depending on different uses.

27 National Adaptation Plan on Climate Change National Adaptation Plan on Climate Change: Integration of adaptation to climate change into the planning strategy of the different socio-economic sectors in Spain Water resources sector: assessment of impacts on natural resources, water demands, available resources and ecological status