Among the scientific and political debate already established a global level is also good to have an overall concept of the dimension of what it means sound management of water. They often come into play so little related aspects including the ecology, agriculture, urban planning and construction, flora and fauna, leisure… when it comes to its obvious staging on water use. But water, nobody would certainly not infinite.
Of course, whenever we talk about water should be referred to freshwater, which is a fraction of the total, because despite the fact that three quarters of the Earth is water, only 3% of this amount is freshwater. And although there are modern methods for desalinating seawater this process is costly economically and environmentally for the performance that it, taking into account that much freshwater is not effectively used and ending part of the masses ocean . In addition, the best source of usable fresh water are precisely rainfall and hence the many water-related studies always begin with studies of meteorology. Who does not remember those rumors so idyllic that technology could control the weather? I do not know if we will reach something or not but it would be, or being, an ambition line of inquiry.
Meanwhile, in the Iberian peninsula, we must be aware that we are in a Mediterranean climate, prone to drought and whose rainfall is concentrated in very specific times of the year. Droughts are not something new, let alone causes attributable to a sudden climate change by burning fossil fuels, greenhouse gases. During the caliphate of Abderraman III, the territory of Al-Andalus suffered the rigors of water shortages such as we were told at the Ibn Hayyán Muqtada V. According to this story in the second half of the year 941, Cordova their villages and their tanks are dry and its surrounding areas are totally sterile. Like the latter, there are numerous historical references on drought concerns, which are accompanied by significant increases in agricultural products.
The World Meteorological Organization suggests establishing drought as the atmospheric sequence characterized by the development of precipitation lower than normal by 60% over 2 consecutive years. For our country, Professor Gil Morales proposed a reduction of 40% of the total for the southeast and Levante and 25% for areas of the Cantabrian.
In the Iberian Peninsula average annual precipitation is around the 650mm, which multiplied by the surface, some 583.254km 2, gives us an amount of usable freshwater total 379,115 hm 3. Of course it would be impossible to achieve or build an effective channel all that water, but in Spain we have a mímima part of regulatory capacity with respect to that total. It is Spain there is a regulatory capacity in reservoirs of just under 55,000 hm 3, and of course never reaches 100% storage. To this we must add that the regulation is different for each basin and the excesses of a defect can not meet otherwise.
On the other hand, aquifers and groundwater are storehouses of water that will not directly or replenished as quickly as precipitation. So they may be considered freshwater reserves very limited and difficult recovery. Unfortunately many of these groundwater is being depleted by over-exploitation resulting in a change of local environmental flora and fauna where groundwater underlying those above the ground. And this result environmental groups are doing responsible for agriculture. Although there is a search for a deeper antecedent.
As drought is a feature in the Iberian peninsula, everyone knows that the main source of GDP in Spain is tourism and agriculture businesses that have changed a lot over the past 50 years and they are very linked to use freshwater. We can consider that agriculture is indeed responsible for the depletion of groundwater resources, but only as a result of a precarious or technical modernization during those 50 years.
Where have traditionally been used to reach the water wells there has been little intention of administrations and the irrigators themselves, to promote irrigation new, or improvements to make irrigation more efficient, or infrastructure for water storage.
During that same time period, and now that is the 60 th anniversary of the state of Israel, this country has become the most pointer in irrigation, water resources taking some very similar to those of the peninsula and also uses some similar. They are the pioneers in hydroponic cultivation and aeroponic, in the most sophisticated filtering and recycling water and dealing in all kinds of scientific studies in terms of water stress on plants.
But in Spain we are still in a period of moratorium liability for statements by use of traditional wells and groundwater concessions, since 25 years ago took the character of this state. Relatively modern policies to encourage put in irrigation and / or upgrades and are even more recent policy advisory services to the Irrigators (SAR).
But despite this, there is a tendency to criminalise the offence by ecological agriculture and golf courses in Andalucia, Murcia and Valencia. For those of Catalonia were not often accused of anything, God save. Water is for people who drink, but agriculture and its products is to eat. Not only water man lives, and hence more likely to subtract water for agriculture is that the supply of products and prices go down.
Of course there are also ecological consequences, in the final result, and with poor water quality or poor management, desertification. This phenomenon is not anything outside, is a reality to which Andalusia is very exposed. The lack of water, vegetation or culture, combined with strong erosion process involves a geometric progression towards the destruction of soil, losing their ability to end up being sterile.
