Groundwater in Spain: Overview and management practices

Abstract Spain is among the most arid countries in the European Union, but has a large hydrogeologic potential with many aquifers widely distributed throughout the country. It is estimated that annual aquifer recharge in Spain is about 30 % of the total water resources available in the country. Groundwater abstraction is mainly used for irrigation, and often concentrated in some intensively exploited aquifers in the Mediterranean side of the Iberian Peninsula. According to the official figures 699 groundwater bodies have been identified in Spain and 259 (38.65%) of these groundwater bodies are classified “at risk ” of not achieving the environmental objectives of the WFD. Groundwater in Spain is a public domain resource since 1985. The changes introduced by the 1985 Water Act and the successive reforms were necessary to deal with the challenges resulting from the more intensive use of groundwater resources. However its implementation has encountered many difficulties which in some ways continue up to date. As all the European Member States, Spain has recently transposed the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) into Spanish law. The WFD states that groundwater abstraction should no