Abstract

GIL-MESEGUER, Encarnación; MARTINEZ-MEDINA, Ramón  and  GOMEZ-ESPIN, José María. The Tajo-Segura water transfer (1979-2017). Actions for the future in Spain. Tecnol. cienc. agua [online]. 2018, vol.9, n.2, pp.192-209.  Epub Nov 24, 2020. ISSN 2007-2422.  https://doi.org/10.24850/j-tyca-2018-02-08.

The southeastern portion of the Iberian Peninsula is the driest area in Europe, where since water demands exceed internal resources, water transfers have been projected ever since ancient times. The origin of the Tajo-Segura water transfer dates back to the 14th century with the requests of the city of Lorca to obtain water from the Archivel and Caravaca and Castril and Guardal rivers. It wasn’t until 1933 when, in the National Plan of Hydraulic Works, Lorenzo Pardo expressed the idea of transferring water from the headwaters of the Tagus River to the southeast (Lorenzo, 1933). In November 1967, the “Anteproyecto General de Aprovechamiento Conjunto de los Recursos Hidráulicos del Centro y Sureste de España: Complejo Tajo-Segura” was presented, written by engineers J. Ma. Martín and J. Ma. Pliego (DGOH, 1967). In 1979, when the construction of the Tajo-Segura was completed, the waters from the Tagus started to arrive to the Segura Basin to supply 2.5 million people and irrigate 150 000 ha. This research’s object is the analysis of more than 35 years of water transfer operations, with water policies related to resource supply and demand management. The research involves a diachronic study of the regional history and geography, along with a review of sources in historical archives (such as the ACHS) and field work along the path of the aqueduct and in southeast Spain. This included interviews of customers and water managers, which enabled the development of proposals with the aim of securing the continuity of the ATS as a national and multifunctional hydraulic infrastructure, and the “Postrasvase” as an essential structure for the territorial model in Southeastern Spain.

Keywords : Tajo-Segura water transfer; water infrastructure; water supply; irrigated landscapes; Southeast Spain.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in English | Spanish     · English ( pdf ) | Spanish ( pdf )