Case Study 1: Matarraña River Basin - Euwareness

Privative uses by
legal disposition
Privative uses by
administrative
authorisation
No administrative authorisation nor concession is required
Land owners can use rain waters
and stagnant waters flowing
through their lands.
They can use waters coming from
springs located in their lands and
use ground waters not exceeding
7,000 m3 per year (unless the
aquifer has been declared as
overexploited, then an
authorisation is required)
If the annual volume of ground
waters uses is superior than 7,000
m3, the land owner will apply for a
concession
Regulative system of privative uses
Regulative system
The river basin agency defines the
exploitation regime
The ecological flow does not have
the nature of water use but is a
restriction imposed to the
exploitation systems (except for
population supply) (46/1999 Act)
The assignation of resources
established in the river basin plan
determines the flows assigned to
present and futures uses
User communities, public
organisations and private users will
apply for the concession or
reserved waters to the river basin
agency
Once the concession has been
conceded, it will be registered in
the Water Register
No one can derive water from one
aqueduct, nor using it, nor using its
strength without administrative
tittle
Any concession must be given
according to the prevision of the
hydrological plans and have a
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Springs are rare
The aquifer is not declared as
overexploited
Current practice
The CHE elaborated the Ebro
Hydrological Plan in 1998
The minimal flow is 325 m3/sec
This flow is not always guaranteed
Around 30% of the extension in the
Matarraña river basin uses water
without having a concession
Illegal users and many legal users
are not registered
Illegal users derive water from
irrigation channels
Water concessions for irrigation and
population supply are considered by
users as being in perpetuity