Who is ‘stealing’ water from Spanish aquifers?

This becomes a scarce resource when demand exceeds availability. That’s when contradictions emerge, which, unfortunately, are not always met between potential users and the social, economic and environmental balance necessary for the sustainable use of water.

Irrigated agriculture is the main water consumer in the world. Producing enough food for the growing world population is essential, accounting for more than 70% of the world’s water consumption (it can exceed 90% in the driest regions), although the use priority is behind urban supply and the environment.

The main distortion towards the sustainable management of water comes from the economic value created by its use.. When the economic interests of a few water speculators are put before social and environmental interests, the necessary balance between the three is disturbed. This balance is the main goal of hydrological plans (HP), at least in theory; In the case of Spain, it is reviewed every six years in accordance with the Water Framework Directive, where a lack of political consensus does not delay it. of the European Union

HPs estimate available renewable water resources and distribute them among eligible claimants to use the water, but these are usually set by conditions, standards and approaches based on the Government’s vision and priorities and the approving parliamentary majority. to confirm them.

From abundance to scarcity

To better understand what aquifers are and how they are managed, it is appropriate to remember that the water on the planet supposedly follows the hydrological cycle. This can be summarized as the evaporation of water into the atmosphere, precipitation by rain and snow, and the infiltration of the part that falls on the earth (refilling the aquifers considered as groundwater) or flowing down rivers until it reaches the Sea.

In the past, the demand for water for different uses (urban, industrial, agricultural and environmental) was less than what would normally be readily available to meet needs. However coinciding with the advent of voting technologies in the mid-1970s. Due to the collection of deep groundwater and the need to increase food production, a very significant increase in the use of groundwater has begun in Spain (mainly in La Mancha and Levante) the first signs of overuse of aquifers.

This led, among other things, to the emergence of the new Water Act of 1985, which replaced another of 1879 and a series of supplemental royal decrees. As before, not only surface waters, but all waters, including groundwater, became public property.

This owners And thieves Of water

In countries where water is public domain, such as Spain, water use concessions were granted free of charge by the Administration, as requested, when there were no restrictions on availability.

But as it has become a scarce resource, as with most of the national territory over the past 25 years, the few concessions granted tend to prioritize new users with the greatest social impact. Although most of the water has already been distributed. Most people have owners that in some cases they speculate to get the highest private profit from the water supplied to them free of charge.

Those who are late for the legal distribution of water, which is increasingly scarce due to the priority given to urban and environmental uses, and has lower availability due to climate change, tend to steal water, that is, use it without compromise.

The balance of social, economic and environmental justice is essential in the distribution of water usage rights. in many cases conflicting with the combined rights of first concessionaires. To achieve this, a transitional period (in this case 50 years) and a series of other measures must be established, such as when the use of groundwater was transferred from private to public law in 1985.

The second would allow reducing concessions to those who have the most, for example, benefiting from the modernization of irrigation and the better efficiency in water use that can be achieved with it; using controlled constrained irrigation that allows us to approach the economic and social optimum per unit of water applied. In this way, water from those who have the most will be reallocated to new users who have social criteria for the distribution of wealth.

price of water

water management in Spain Canon for the use of surface water only, corresponding to the maintenance and management of the water distribution system. In general, the public administration is responsible for meeting the necessary infrastructure investments. On the other hand, for the use of groundwater, private users (more than 75% of cases) bear all costs and only in social interest works is the same as with surface waters.

Irrigation water rates generally range from 0.01 € to 0.18 €/m³ and are normally fixed for the entire volume of water granted in their concession. City tariffs, which normally include at least three departments with different costs depending on consumption, are usually three to six times more expensive than irrigation tariffs, as they include treatment, distribution and treatment. In this sense, there are great differences between different Spanish cities, with differences that could be more than double.

Irrigation water management is often the responsibility of hydrographic confederations with the help of irrigation societies. Because urban water works better than public administration alone, it normally corresponds to municipalities with the help of private or public-private companies.

Advice for rational use

An additional problem to water scarcity, lack of awareness and knowledgeon the rational use of water, both for those who make concessions and those who do not. To avoid this, technical advice focused on achieving maximum economic productivity per cubic meter of irrigation water is essential. Users of water demand this assistance in a situation where there is less and less water for agriculture.

Universities and research centers play a fundamental role in developing the knowledge for this recommendation and transferring it to the producing sector. After the economic crisis that began in 2010, economic cutbacks to research (between 60% and 100%), both nationally and regionally, as in the case of Spain, greatly reduced the production and transfer of knowledge in these and many other areas.

Today, water is a scarce and strategic resource in most countries. arguably “Whoever has water has a treasure”Therefore, there are increasing political, economic and social pressures to dispose, control and manage water. Unfortunately, this also causes an increase in speculation and Dark Arts that it requires.

Jose Maria Tarjuelo Martin-Benito

He is Professor of Agroforestry Engineering at the University of Castilla-La Mancha.

Reference article: https://theconversation.com/quien-roba-el-agua-de-los-acuiferos-115302

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Contact address of the environment department: crizclimatica@prensaiberica.es