The Albufeira Convention between Portugal

and Spain: cooperation in floods protection

Spanish General Water Directorate

Santarém (Portugal) 2sd april 2013

Historical antecedents coordination between

Spain and Portugal

• Treaty on boundaries in 1864

• Convention to regulate the hydro-electric development of the

international section of the Duero 1927

• Same with Miño, Limia, Tagus, Guadiana and Chança and their

tributaries 1968

• Albufeira Convention on the co-operation for the protection and

the sustainable use of the waters of the Portuguese-Spanish

river basins 1998

• Protocol amending the Convention of 1998, 2008

• It’s a legal framework for cooperation and coordination.

– The object is the environmental protection of surface water and groundwater bodies including the related ecosystems, guaranteeing sustainable water use and mitigating the effects of floods, droughts and water scarcity.

• Cooperation.- It’s based on three principal elements:

– Active, regular and systematic exchange of information and consultation

– Harmonise technical, administrative and legal measures

– Define a flow regime in international rivers

• Coordination of water management plans and programme of measures

Principles' Albufeira Convention

International River Basin

Total Area

(km2)

Portugal Spain

Area (km2)

% Area (km2)

%

Minho 17.080 850 5 16.230 95

Lima 2.480 1.180 48 1.300 52

Douro 97.600 18.600 19 79.000 81

Tejo 80.600 24.800 31 55.800 69

Guadiana 66.800 11.500 17 55.300 83

TOTAL 264.56

0 56.930 22 207.630 78

Organization

Spanish Technical

Secretariat

Ministry of Foreign

Affairs

Environmental Agency of

Portugal

Ministry of Agriculture,

Food and Environment

Commission for the Application and

Development of the Albufeira

Convention (CADC)

Working Groups on:

Information exchange and emergency situation

Water Management Plans in the international river

basin districts.

Portuguese Technical

Secretariat

Flow regimen in the Albufeira Convention

Annual Flow in all

sites

Spain guaranteed a minimum water flow per year

on the shared rivers.

This system sometimes presented important

fluctuations

Annual Flow in all

sites

Quarterly and weekly

flows in most sites.

An annual flow has to be guaranteed in each flow

control site unless the exception situation was

declared.

The water flows will be revised every 3 months in each

river basin according to the precipitation of the last 3

months in the respective catchment areas (quartely

flow)

In some cases a minimum weekly flow will be

established in order to guarantee a good ecological

status of water bodies and preserve the ecological

flows.

New Flow Protocol in 2008

Albufeira Convention in 1998

1998:

2.700 hm3/year

in CEDILLO Dam 1998:

4.000 hm3/year

in PONTE MUGE

Flow regimen in the Albufeira Convention

Albufeira Convention in 1998

QUARTELY AND WEEKLY FLOW ( hm3) established by Albufeira Convention

MIÑO DUERO TAGUS GUADI

ANA

FRIERA

RESERVOIR

MIRANDA

/BEMPOSTA

RESERVOIR

SAUCELLE

RESERVOIR-

AGUEDA

RIVER

CRESTUMA

FLOW SITE

CEDILLO

RESERVOIR

PONTE MUGE

FLOW SITE

AZUD

DE

BADAJ

OZ

FLOW

SITE

1st October-

31st December

440 510 580 770 295 150 32-63

1st January-

31st March

530 630 720 950 350 180 37-74

1st April-30th

June

330 480 520 690 220 110 21-42

1st July-30th

September

180 270 300 400 130 60 16-32

WEEKLY

FLOW

- 10 15 20 7 3 -

Albufeira Convention in 2008

Flow regimen in the Albufeira Convention

Flooding management of

March 2013

Example of this coordination

Total rainfall on March 2013

More than 500 mm

on March

Total rainfall on last week of March 2013

More than 150 mm

on a week

Alcantara Dam

Cedillo Dam

Valdecañas Dam Tajo / Tagus river

Spain Portugal

Key points in the international river basin

•Year of construction 1964

•Basin area 36540 km2

•Reservoir capacity: 1446 Hm3

•Spillway capacity 5300 m3/s

Valdecañas Dam

Hydroelectric dam

Valdecañas Dam

Mar - 28 Mar - 29 Mar - 30 Mar - 31 Apr - 01

Reservoir Volume

Outflow: max 210 m3/s

Inflow max 1170 m3/s

•Basin area 52000 km2

•Reservoir capacity: 3160 Hm3

Alcantara Dam

Hydroelectric dam

•Year of construction 1969

Second largest in Spain and fourth in Europe

•Spillway capacity 12250 m3/s

Alcantara Dam

Hydroelectrical power: 915 MW

Alcantara Dam

Mar - 28 Mar - 29 Mar - 30 Mar - 31 Apr - 01

Max inflow 4300 m3/s

Reservoir volume

Total outflow:

max 3000 m3/s

Apr - 02

Turbine flow:

max 1000 m3/s

preventive discharges

Peak flow delay

Cedillo Dam

Portugal

Spain Portugal

•Basin area 58000 km2

•Reservoir capacity 260 Hm3

•Spillway capacity 16200 m3/s Dam

Hydroelectric

dam

Cedillo Dam

Mar - 28 Mar - 29 Mar - 30 Mar - 31 Apr - 01

Reservoir volume

Outflow:

max 4000

m3/s

Inflow max 4400 m3/s

Total flow estimate in natural

regime : 7200 m3/s

Maximum discharge to Portugal :

4000 m3/s.

Maximum flow at the mouth at the

sea: 5500 m3/s

163 834

1229

1126 1670 300 1168

423

160

290 132

CEDILLO ALCANTARA

SALOR

ARRAGO ALAGON

GUADILOBA

TAMUJA

ALMONTE

VALDECAÑASTORREJON-TAJO

TORREJON-TIETAR

45 % decreased total

peak flow of the event

30 % decrease peak

flow and delay more

than one day thanks

to the Alcantara

reservoir 100 year

return

period

25 year

return

period

Hydrologic routing

flood frequency analysis

http://saihtajo.chtajo.es/ http://sig.magrama.es/saih/

Communications and web data

Initial opinions in Portugal’s media

Official position of the Authorities of Portugal

Official position of the Authorities of Portugal

It is very important to remark than in Spain, river basin authorities, in

a flood event, decide the discharges of all dams, including

hydroelectric dams too. Not so in Portugal, where hydroelectric dams

in a flood event usually work with inflow = outflow.

Conclusion (1)

Conclusion (2).

• Therefore, Spain works beyond Flood Directive, working

to try to reduce the flood risk in Portugal with the same

procedures and objectives than in Spain.

The Albufeira Convention between Portugal

and Spain, cooperation in floods protection

Spanish General Water Directorate