1. DROUGHT MANAGEMENT PLANS IN SPAIN Drought indicators Rome, 7 Dicember 2006
Teodoro Estrela
Deputy Water Director Spanish Ministry of Environment

2. Index
Legal Framework
Special Drought Management Plans (DMPs)

3. Management alternatives for droughts
As emergency situation
Considering it as a crisis situation, which has to be tackled using extraordinary resources.
b) Within the general planning framework
Making an analysis of the existing risk, and introducing droughts in the general planning strategies as a different scenario.
In Spain, traditionally, droughts have been managed as emergency situations.

4. Drought management as emergency situation
Spanish Water Law (TRLA), in art. 58, foresees in extraordinary drought situation the adoption, by the Government, of necessary measures to overcome these situations, related to the use of the public water domain.
Decrees of urgent extraordinary measures

5. Bases for drought planned management
Law 10/2001, July 5, of the Hydrological Water Plan, establishes the bases for the drought planned management.
Article 27. Drought management
Section 1. The Ministry of Environment, for the intercommunitary basins, in order to minimize environmental, economic and social impacts of eventual drought situation, will establish a global hydrologic indicators system that will allow foreseeing these situations, and will serve as general reference for river basin organizations for the formal declaration of emergency situations and eventual drought. This declaration will imply the entry into force of the Special Plan (DMP) referred in the following section.

6. Bases for drought planned management
Hydrological National Plan Article 27. Drought management
Section 2. Basin Organizations will develop (in 2 years) special action plans (DMP) for alert situations and eventual drought (exploitation rules and measures)
Hydrological National Plan Article 27. Drought Management
Section 3. Public Administrations responsible for public urban supplying, for town of or above 20,000 inhabitants, will provide: Emergency Plan for drought situations (taking into account rules and measures planned in Special Plans) to be applied within four years.

7. Guidance Document for the development of DMP
The Directorate General for Water has elaborated a “Guidance Document for developing DMPs”

8. DMPs ENTITIES IN CHARGED: River Basin Authorities
LEGAL FRAMWORK: Law 10/2001, of the Hydrological National Plan and Directive 2000/60/CE –Art. 4.6-
OBJECTIVE: Minimize environmental, social and economic impacts of drought situations
PLACEMENT WITHIN THE PLANNING PROCESS: It’s a specific plan within the River Basin Management Plans.

9. DMPs SUMMARY OF THEIR CONTENT: DIAGNOSIS:
Identify and characterize territorial and environmental elements. Zonification
Analysis of historical droughts and drought characterization
Definition of indicators, thresholds and drought phases
PROGRAM OF MEASURES (POM):
Definition of general measures and specific ones for each area in each drought phase
MANAGEMENT AND FOLLOW-UP SYSTEM:
Organization and management systems
Definition of indicators for the implementation follow-up and effects

10. Trends of reservoirs and wetlands
Evolution within the hydrological year
Tablas de Daimiel wetland
Spanish reservoirs

11. Indicators system Objective
Follow-up of the hydrological status through an indicators’ system that represents the functioning of water resource systems of River basins.
Indicators selection criteria
Identification of the origin areas of resource associated to specific demand units.
Selection of indicators types according to their representativity in the resources supply.
Precipitation
River inflows in natural regime
Stored volume in surface reservoirs
Piezometric levels in aquifers

12. Indicators assessment and thresholds definition
Historical value indicator
Hydrologic status classification

13. Indicators validation with water resource systems

14. Hydrological status of water resource system in Sept. 2006

15. Temporal indicator’s evolution in each water resource system

16. TYPES OF MITIGATION MEASURES
Mitigation drought measures
TYPES OF MITIGATION MEASURES
Indicator
1-0.5
0.1-0
Status
Normal
Pre-alert
Alert
Emergency
Objective
Planning
Information-control
Conservation
Restrictions
Type of measure
Strategic
Tactics

17. Main measures to apply during drought situation
Exploitation rules, savings and use restrictions
Joint management of surface water and groundwater: drought wells
Non-conventional resources: reuse of treated wastewaters in agriculture
Water markets.

18. DMPs
NEED OF DEVELOPING AN STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THE PLAN
DOCUMENT
OBJETIVE
ENTITY IN CHARGED
INITIAL DOCUMENT
Communicate to the environmental entity the beginning of the planning process
Promoting Entity
REFERENCE DOCUMENT
Define strategies for the plan environmental assessment
Environmental Entity
SPECIAL PLAN
Define status indicators and thresholds, POM and management and follow-up system
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
Guarantee the integration of environmental aspects of the plan’s decision-taking process
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
Content’s summary, of the environmental integration and of the public participation process
Promoting Entity and Environmental Entity

19. Development process of the DMPs
PROMOTING ENTITY (River Basin)
DMP
Strategic Environmental Assessment
ENVIRONMENTAL ENTITY
INITIAL PLAN ROUGHT DRAFT
INITIAL PLAN
SCOPING
DRAFT PLAN
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
STUDY AND RESPONSE OF COMPLAINTS
MODIFICATIONS OF THE PLAN DRAFT PLAN
PLAN PROPOSAL
PLAN APPROVAL
PUBLICATION OF THE PLAN
APPLICATION OF THE PLAN
PLAN FOLLOW UP AND CONTROL
ENV. SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
REFERENCE DOCUMENT
DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
PLAN ADVERTISEMENT+ ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES + FOLLOW-UP MEASURES
FOLLOW UP OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS AND OF THE PLAN DEVELOPMENT
PLAN FOLLOW-UP

20. Beginning of the public participation process
Published on the State’s Official Bulletin
B.O.E. of 8/11/2006

21. Sub-activity on Drought Management Plans (DMPs)
Objectives
Timetable

22. Objectives
Exchange information among interested MS on drought management under the WFD framework
Collect information on already existing DMPs, or specific actions/measures
Select study cases
Provide a Guidance Document for developing specific drought plans linked to the River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) for those countries in need

23. Objectives Content of the Guidance Document:
Apply the common understanding of “prolonged droughts” (previously adopted in the Exemption activity of the Expert Network).
Recommend criteria for the establishment of indicators and thresholds (also in agreement with other sub-activities)
Provide recommendations on measures before, during and after droughts consistent with the POM of RBMP to minimize economic social and environmental impacts.
Product: a final report to be endorsed (SCG and WDs)

24. 2007 Timetable (tentative)
February 2007: First information gathered and discussed within the Expert Network
30 April 2007: Contributions of members
30 may: 1st draft of Guidance Document
June (TBC): Meeting in Madrid International Workshop
15 July: Assessment of workshop’s results and incorporation into Guidance Document
7 September: First version of the Document (put together with other sections, agriculture and exemptions)
1st October: presentation of Document to the Expert Network.
October: Present results to SCG meeting
November: Final document to be endorsed by WD