Case Study 1: Matarraña River Basin - Euwareness

However, the severe drought kept the dialogue via opened among the basin actors.
Farmers and city councils of the whole basin maintained the commission, which was
broadened as the Municipality of Valderrobres (high basin) and a representative of
Torre del Compte irrigation community joined it. In July, as the Matarraña river was dry
in its middle and lower sections and the Pena Dam only stored 2 hm3, the farm
production of the middle and lower basin became under threat again. Maella, which
was the municipality that suffered more from drought effects had to impose daily
restrictions in drinking water in order to save as much fruit crops as possible. There
were only 800,000 m3 of water available to irrigation. Given that situation, the
commission decided to meet again in order to study three possible emergency
regulation projects (its costs, profitability and environmental impact) and to meet again
when such projects were finished in order to make a decision about the best solution.
Those projects included the lateral pools, the pumping from the Ebro and the
groundwater extraction. In August, the rest of the water stored in the Pena Dam was
released in a last attempt to save the fruit trees.
The persistence of the critical drought situation and their harmful effects pushed the
basin actors represented at the commission to meet again in November and decided
about one of the regulation projects studied. Their main objective was to reach an
agreement between as much relevant actors as possible in order to avoid a similar
situation the next spring-summer. The Commission was now constituted by
representatives of the regional government, PLADEMA, the majority of the
Municipalities of the basin, the Central Union and a national environmental
organisation. The assistants to the meeting finally reached a consensus and chose the
option of two lateral pools as the best solution.
6.2.3. Phase 3: 2000
Integration of problem definitions and actors in the policy network
At the basin level, however, the pressure of water scarcity problems and the need for
finding a solution to cover water demands turned the initial territorial conflict to an
agreement finally reached trough dialogue and intense negotiation among the
conflicting interests.
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