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 the water. They often come into play so little related aspects such as ecology, agriculture, urban planning and construction, flora and fauna, entertainment ... to make clear its mise en scene on water use. But water, nobody is certainly not infinite.
Since then, whenever we talk about water must be referring to fresh water, which is a fraction of the total, because despite the fact that three quarters of the Earth is water, only 3% of that amount is fresh water. And although there are modern methods for desalinating sea water this process is costly economically and environmentally for the performance that can be obtained from him, considering that much of the fresh water is not utilized effectively and ends to be part of the masses ocean . In addition, the more profitable source of fresh water are precisely the rainfall and hence the many studies related to water always start with the studies of meteorology. Who does not remember those rumors so idyllic that the technology could control the weather? I do not know if it will come to anything or not but it would be or is 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 where rainfall is concentrated in very specific times of the year. Droughts are not new, much less attributable to causes sudden climate change by burning fossil fuels, greenhouse gases. During the Caliphate of Abd ar-Rahman III, the territory of Al-Andalus suffered the rigors of water shortages such as we have recounts in the Ibn Hayyan Muqtada V. According to this tale, in the second half of the year 941, Cordoba and their villages are drying their tanks and their 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 Like the latter, there are numerous historical references on drought concerns, which are accompanied by significant increases in agricultural products.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 proposed to define the drought as the atmospheric sequence characterized by the development of precipitation lower than normal at 60% for more than 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 Cantabria.
In the Iberian Peninsula average annual precipitation is around the 650mm, which multiplied by the surface, about 583.254km 2, gives us a quantity of fresh water usable total of 379,115 hm 3. Of course it would be impossible to seize or channel them effectively all that water, but in Spain we have a mímima part of regulatory capacity with respect to that total. Spain there is a regulatory capacity in reservoirs of just under 55,000 hm 3, and of course never reaches 100% of storage. To this we must add that the regulation of each basin is different and the excesses of a remedy can not be otherwise.
On the other hand, aquifers and groundwater are stores of water that will not directly or replenished as quickly as precipitation. So it can be considered freshwater reserves very limited and difficult recovery. Unfortunately many of these groundwater is being depleted by over-exploitation resulting in a local environmental change of flora and fauna where groundwater underlying those above the ground. And this consequence environmental groups are responsible for agriculture. Although it is the search for a deeper background.
Like the 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 which are closely linked to the use freshwater. We can consider that agriculture is indeed responsible for the depletion of ground water resources, but only as a result of a precarious or technical modernization during those 50 years.
Where they have traditionally used wells to reach the water has been little intention of administrations and of themselves irrigators, to promote irrigation systems as new, or improvements to an irrigation more efficient, or infrastructure for water storage.
During the same period of time, and now it is the 60th anniversary of the state of Israel, this country has become the most pointer in irrigation, water resources taking some very similar to those in the peninsula and some also use similar. They are the pioneers in aeroponic and hydroponic crops, the most TECHNIFIED in filtering and recycling water and those dealing in all kinds of scientific studies in terms of water stress in plants.
But in Spain are still in a period of moratorium liability for statements by use of traditional wells and groundwater concessions, from which 25 years ago took the character of this state. They are 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 that, there is a tendency to criminalize crime by ecological agriculture and golf courses in Andalucia, Murcia and Valencia. For those of Catalonia are often not accused of anything, God save. Water is for people who drink, but agriculture and its products is to eat. Not only water living man, and hence more likely to subtract water for agriculture is that the supply of products and prices fall rise.
Of course there are also ecological consequences, in the final result, and with water of poor quality or poor management, desertification. This phenomenon is not anything else, is a reality to which Spain is highly exposed. The lack of water, vegetation or crop, combined with strong erosion process involves a geometric progression towards the destruction of soil, the loss of their qualities to end up being sterile.
