At the beginning of the 20th century, 1.2 Mha were irrigated
1902: First National Plan for Hydraulic Works.
1905: Small irrigation law.
1911: Large Irrigation Law.
1939: Law approving the General Plan for Public Works.
1939: Basic Law for the Colonization of Large Areas.
1946: Law of Forced Expropriation for Social Interest.
1949: Basic Law on colonization and distribution of property in irrigated areas.
To comply with the law from 1939 onwards, the National Institute of Colonization (INC) (October 18, 1939) and later, the National Land Consolidation Service (SNCP) (February 16, 1953) and in 1967 they were integrated together with the Soil Conservation Service into the General Directorate of Colonization and Rural Planning of the Ministry of Agriculture
1971:Law 35 creates the National Institute for Agrarian Reform and Development (IRYDA), which assumes the powers that current laws may assign to any of the above for the following purposes:
a) The economic and social transformation of large areas and regions that require it
b) The creation, improvement and conservation of farms
c) The best use and conservation of natural resources
1973: The actions of IRYDA are regulated by the Law of Agrarian Reform and Development, the text of which is approved by the Decree 118/1973.
1995With the administrative reform of the Ministry of Agriculture, IRYDA and ICONA disappear, and their powers are integrated into the new General Secretariat for Rural Development and Nature Conservation.
Specifically, IRYDA's responsibilities are transferred to the Directorate General for Rural Development, which is now called the Directorate General for Rural Development, Innovation, and Agri-food Training. Within this Directorate is the current Sub-Directorate General for Irrigation, Natural Pathways, and Rural Infrastructure.
Its objective is to establish a framework for the protection of continental (surface or groundwater) and coastal waters, and to promote their sustainable use.
Irrigation policy depends on the provisions of the river basin management plans. These plans are drawn up in accordance with the consolidated text of the Water Act (Royal Legislative Decree 1/2001) and are also incorporated into the regulatory framework defined by the Water Framework Directive. An important aspect is Article 9 of the Directive, which establishes the principle of cost recovery for water-related services. The aim is for Member States' water pricing policies to incentivize users (including irrigators) to use the resource efficiently.
Its objective is the regulation of public water resources, water use, and the powers attributed to the State. It establishes basic standards for the protection of inland, coastal, and transitional waters.
Article 41 establishes that hydrological plans will be prepared in coordination with the different sectoral plans that affect them, and especially with what is established in the planning of irrigation and other agricultural uses.
Chapter III establishes that, in general, the following order of priority for water uses will apply: public water supply, irrigation and agricultural uses, electricity generation, other industrial uses, aquaculture, recreational uses, navigation and water transport, and other uses. It also regulates the system for granting water concessions for irrigation.
Article 114 establishes the regulation fee and water usage tariff, which must be paid by all beneficiaries of the works, in order to compensate for the investment costs borne by the Administration and to cover the operating and maintenance expenses of such works.
The PHR contemplates:
a) The measures necessary for the coordination of the different river basin management plans.
b) The forecast and conditions of the transfers of water resources between territorial areas of different river basin management plans.
c) The modifications foreseen in the planning of the use of the resource and that affect existing uses for supplying populations or irrigation.
Furthermore, it contains the delimitation and characterization of groundwater bodies shared between two or more demarcations, including the allocation of resources to each of them.
Finally, it must also incorporate the declaration as hydraulic works of general interest of the infrastructures necessary for the transfer of resources.
– First cycle: approved for the period 2010-2015
– Second cycle: approved for the period 2016-2021
– Third cycle: valid for the period 2022-2027
– Fourth cycle: the period 2028-2033 is under consultation
They reflect the particularization of the objectives of the WFD and the Water Law for each river basin district.
For more information: https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/agua/temas/planificacion-hidrologica/planificacion-hidrologica.html
There is EU legislation relating to irrigation and the efficient use of water, notably the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC and the EAFRD Regulation (EU) 1310/2013 whose applications affect irrigation policy, although the Irrigation Policy is national.
The Spanish Constitution distinguishes the powers between the General State Administration and the Autonomous Communities:
Article 148 relating to the powers of the Autonomous Communities:
– 148.7 Agriculture and livestock farming, in accordance with the general organization of the economy.
– 148.10 The projects, construction and operation of hydraulic works, canals and irrigation systems of interest to the Autonomous Community.
Article 149 relating to the exclusive powers of the State:
– 149.13 Bases and coordination of the general planning of economic activity.
– 149.22 The legislation, regulation and granting of hydraulic resources and uses when the waters flow through more than one Autonomous Community.
– 149.24 Public works of general interest or whose execution affects more than one Autonomous Community
Schematically, the high-level distribution would correspond to the General Directorate of Water of the MITECO in accordance with the River Basin Authorities, and the low-level distribution would correspond to the General Directorate of Rural Development, Innovation and Agri-food Training of the MAPA.
In some cases, irrigation is the exclusive responsibility of the Autonomous Communities, according to their Statutes of Autonomy (except for Declarations of General Interest). Only Aragon, Navarre, Catalonia, Extremadura, the Valencian Community, and Castile-La Mancha have their own legislation regulating irrigation. For the rest, the Law on Agrarian Reform and Development applies, the text of which is approved by the Decree 118/1973.
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