Spain has been superxplying its aquifers. March rains have given us the historical opportunity to save them

In recent years, we have spent hours and hours talking about swamps and reservoir water. And it makes sense: a good part of the country and its economy depend on them. However, if we only talk about reservoirs, we will be forgetting two out of ten Spaniards.

And is that Spain is an aquifer country. According to The data of the Ministry of Ecological Transitioncover more than 90% of the national territory. That is between 20,000 and 30,000 cubic hectometers of water that are renewed annually.

However, in the last decades we have been systematically overexploitation to the point that a good part of the country is being taken to the edge of technical bankruptcy. March rains give us a historical opportunity to solve this, the question is if we will be able to take advantage of it

The clearest example is Doñana … The National Park lost “more than 80% of its marshes compared to the beginning of the 20th century.” However, more than half lost it in the last decade. That gives a clear measure of the voracity of the system: if the overexploitation has been able to denaturalize hectares and hectares of one of the most protected natural places in the country, what will not be happening with the rest?

… But there are many more. Above all, because for most of the population what happens in Doñana It is still distant (problematic, rejectable, worryingYeah; but distant). The problem is that many regions depend critically on groundwater and the desiccation of aquifers exposes them to enormous water insecurity.

The insecurity of which I speak has a very simple explanation: the agroganadero sector consumes 82.5% of the country’s water. That translates that most of the water passes through fertilized lands. It is not surprising that, according to the citizen network of measurement of nitrates, almost 60% of Spanish underground waters is contaminated by nitrates.

If the subsoil is loaded with water, that pollution can be worrying, but is diluted. As soon as the water is scarce, the aquifers become unusable.

The real problem is another. For decades, whether by their own decision or by omission, the Spanish authorities have lived back their aquifers. This explains a good part of the disorder and lack of control that surrounds them. Eyes that do not see, illegal irrigation that are allowed. Wwf Spain revealed in 2019 that The four most important aquifers in the country have been sheared for years.

And presumably, goes much further. According to the reports of the Geological and Mining Institute“For decades, salinization of Mediterranean and insular Spanish coastal coastal aquifers have been known.” Despite this, “only in a few cases this situation is well managed.”

As happens, for example, with the Malaga aquifer of Guadalhorce, Integral studies are missing of the entire aquifer to specify the existing reserves and determine the best extraction strategy “if it exists. Without knowing how much water there is and how that water is the situation becomes impossible to manage accurately.

The opportunity of March. When we say that We have been failing for 30 years When preparing for the next drought (and diverting the resources we obtain from the improvement of efficiency to uses that abound in exploitation), we refer This kind of thing: The lack of a really ambitious management framework that recovers, manages and sanctions the aquifers of the country.

March 2025 and the huge amount of water He has put in the channels has become a great opportunity to solve this. We have given us time to build these integral studies and make decisions for the future. Hopefully not missing her.

Image | Scott Jasechko (via sync) | Niel Baars

In Xataka | “In the next ten years, Spain and Latin America will suffer (and much) with water,” Robert Glennon (University of Arizona)