Case Study 1: Matarraña River Basin - Euwareness

1. Case demarcation
The Matarraña river is tributary of the Ebro river in its right side. It is located in the
northern east of Spain and flows through the Teruel and Zaragoza provinces (Aragón
Autonomous Community), Tarragona (Catalonia) and Castellón (Valencian Country).
The Matarraña basin has a total of 1,727 Km2 flowing through 97 km starting from its
head (in Puertos de Beceite) and ending in the Ebro river. The Matarraña hidrographic
net includes: the Matarraña river, the Pena river, the Ulldemó river, the Tastavins river
and the Algás river (the latter is the main tributary and empties its waters into the point
where the Matarraña flows into the Ebro river).
There are two factors exogenous—both to the regulative system and the policy
process—that are crucial in order to understand the developments at the Matarraña
river basin: the climate patterns and the intra-basin diversity.
Climate conditions
Climate patterns considered both inter-annually and intra-annually are crucial in order
to understand what is going on in the Matarraña river basin. Regarding interannual
patterns, some raining cycles can be observed: five to ten year periods of scarce
raining and draught are commonly followed by five to ten years periods of abundant
raining. According to some data, the main climatic periods related to the Matarraña
river along the last years, which are coincident with those at the national level, are the
following ones:
Climate periods
1977 – 1987 dry period
1987/88 – 1992/93 wet period
1993/94 – 1999/2000 dry period
2000 wet period
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