Backgrounds
Water is considered an essential and limited resource that causes a social concern about the decision making process that aims a suitable water resources management, mostly in arid and semiarid Regions. In addition, it is crucial to consider aspects such as water efficiency, equity and water assign processes for the different users and Regions.
Some researching groups were created in the Castilla-La Mancha University focused on water research because of the growth of desertification risk rates and society concerns about this reality.
In 2001, the Regional Centre of Water Research was created to coordinate and systematize efforts and works about different aspects that use of water involves, which were carried out form University of Castilla-La Mancha. Regional Centre of Water Research, with an interdisciplinary and intercampus nature, supports the researching, educational, and advising activity about these questions.
The Regional Centre of Water Research is a University researching and developing centre, which has sections consisting of multidisciplinary groups with own organization and close collaboration.
These sections are:
Objectives
- Provide public and private institutions, as well as enterprises and water users, with technical and scientific support in order to satisfy the demand of technologies, products and services necessary to improve innovation and competitiveness.
- Fostering the development of initiatives, both inside and outside University, channeled to make a rational and sustainable use of water resources, cooperating in preserving nature and seeking an optimal coordination between the public and the private sector.
Some of the activities to be done are:
- Promotion and execution of research studies and projects.
- Educational activities for both basic and advanced training.
- Scientific and technical support and advice for both public and private institutions.
- Setting up of a specialized bibliography and documentary fund.
Work plan
Some of the main lines of work are:
- Agricultural water management under water scarcity conditions, and development of models to help in making decisions for a sustainable farm management. This helps to promote Advisory Services for farmers.
- Contribution to save water and energy, reducing the environmental impact through improving the design, working conditions and water management distribution systems, and through the characterization and standardization of irrigation equipment.
- Studies of improvement and consolidation of irrigation systems, promoting their multifunctional role, as a basic element for a sustainable rural development.
- Development of models to evaluate natural water resources and to both estimate and study the evolution of water demand and water balance.
- Controlling and monitoring the quality of water, both in the case of punctual or diffuse pollution (agricultural, industrial and urban), and its treatment.
- Studies on water and environmental policies, within Europe and Spain competencies and its normative development. These studies are understood as the key for a sustainable development and the solution of social and economic conflicts related to water use.
- Legal framework of both water uses and end-user organizational structure.
Technological offer
- Models development of crops requirements and water balance, for both large areas and plots, (irrigated and unirrigated lands).
- Studies about management of crops with water stress, functions and models under water restriction situations, etc.
- Studies about treated waste water for irrigation.
- Studies about water as a factor necessary to a social and economic development.
- Transferring technology to the water users to optimize the use of water and involving them in a suitable management of available resources.
- Studies about the different costs of alternative uses of water.
- Normative developing about regional and local water policies.
- Administrative procedures of water joined to others policies (environment, agriculture, etc.) and coordination with the National Authority of Water.
- Viability of water transfers and flexibility in concessions.
- Developing of Decision Support Systems that collaborate with economic, social and politic agents to optimize the management of different uses of water.
- Studies of the interrelations between aquifers and runoffs, demarcation of natural and artificial areas of water discharge, wells, among others.
- Water, energetic and economic optimization of pumping and irrigation systems.
- Impact of quality and availability of water in ecosystems and studies of the compatibility of this water with other uses.
- Studies about environment impact of projects developed in vulnerable areas.
- Studies about factors that enhance the natural imbalance in natural process (forest fire, natural cover elimination, accelerated erosion, etc.)
