The Water Policy in Spain

Hydraulic infrastructures are a key element for economic growth in a developing country that has extensive fields not yet cultivated and an economy that is mainly agricultural. This was the case of Spain in the last century; since getting new resources was relatively easy during this period, their use seemed unlimited while the concern for environmental problems and water quality merely existed. The hydraulic policy was highly beneficial, since it allowed an improvement in the quality of life, the growth of a flourishing irrigation agriculture and the development of other economic sectors such as industry, and more recently, tourism. Nonetheless, the traditional water management model has shown signs of collapse for several years now, since after decades of strong public investment, Spain is still subject of severe and frequent conflicts related to water. It is also worth mentioning that the economic structure of the country, its political situation and the perception of the problems have significantly changed over the years. We live in the transition of a model based on the construction of dams and water transfers to a new one more concerned for the management of the water demand. In this context, a new policy is developing that considers water as an economic, social and environmental heritage that we must conserve and protect. In other words, a policy that will make us feel proud of the heritage we leave for future generations. This change occurs just in the middle of the process of adjustment to the Directive 2000/60/CE, known as the Water Framework Directive (from now on WFD), which implies a new conception of water management. The main goal of the WFD is to maintain and improve the aquatic environment of the European Union. The Directive forces the Member States to reach a good ecological and chemical status of all water bodies (groundwater, surface, coastal and transitional) by 2015. After reviewing crucial landscape issues to understand the singularity of the Spanish situation and the phases of the traditional water policy during the 19th and 20th century, this report intends to show the key themes of the new water policy. These are: adjustment to the new European regulation (WFD), agriculture and the modernization of irrigation, the urban water cycle (supply and sanitation), risk management (droughts and floods) and the new environmental line of this policy.

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