JÚCAR RIVER BASIN (SPAIN)
Hydrology
The precipitation in the basin produces a mean annual runoff about 75 mm. Groundwater resources are about 70% of the JRBD global resources. The use of groundwater is very important in the basin for agricultural and urban demands. However, the intensive use of groundwater has produced serious problems of over-exploitation in some aquifers.
The combined use of surface and groundwater is becoming more significant in the basin.
Networks for surface and groundwater monitoring have been established in recent years. Moreover, automatic and real time monitoring systems have also been set up as well as an Automated System of Information on Water Quality (SAICA). It is made up of automatic stations strategically positioned at appropriate points along the rivers which measure the water quality conditions.
Extreme hydrologic events like floods and drought occur several times during a year in the Júcar basin. The construction of the Automatic Hydrological Information System (SAIH) allows real time intervention to control level increase, flow rates of rivers and reservoirs and flood risking.
References and further reading:
Andreu et al. (2009) Decision Support System for Drought Planning and Management in the Jucar River Basin, Spain.
Andreu et al. (2013) Drought Planning and Management in the Júcar River Basin, Spain, in: Schwabe et al., Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, Germany.
Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar, www.chj.es Júcar River Basin Agency: Jucar Pilot River Basin – Spain.
Momblanch A., Andreu J., Paredes-Arquiola J., Solera A., Pedro-Monzonís M. (2014) Adapting water accounting for integrated water resource management. The Júcar Water Resource System (Spain), Journal of Hydrology, 519: 3369-3385.
Paredes-Arquiola J., Andreu-Álvarez J., Martín-Monerris M., Solera A. (2010) Water quantity and quality models applied to the Jucar River Basin, Spain, Water Resource Management, 24: 2759-2779.
Pedro-Monzonís M., Ferrer J., Solera A., Estrela T., Paredes-Arquiola J. (2015) Key issues for determining the exploitable water resources in a Mediterranean river basin, Science of the Total Environment, 503-504: 319-28.
