Optimization of Water Transfers and Irrigation Allocation"

Optimization of Water Transfers and Irrigation Allocation” – Tajo Basin, Spain

Compensation

Groundwater Management

Water Compensation

Water savings

Overview

This project addresses a critical challenge in semi-arid agricultural zones: significant water loss in open, non-automated irrigation networks. Through the digitalization, automation, and control of irrigation canals, the project aims to enable precise water management that reduces unnecessary extractions from the Tagus River, strengthens agricultural community resilience during water scarcity, and enhances the sustainability of water use in agriculture.

This initiative aligns with the Water Positive approach—not only seeking to reduce the sector’s net water footprint but also to return more water to the system than is extracted, generating a measurable, permanent net volumetric benefit.

The project is explicitly designed for quantification, validation, and reporting under VWBA 2.0, applying scientific methodology to generate additional, traceable, and auditable Water Benefits (VWBs).

Problem and Causes

The Comunidad de Regantes Canales de Aranjuez faces several structural and operational challenges undermining the efficiency and sustainability of its water distribution system:

Significant system losses: The absence of automated control valves, real-time flow monitoring sensors, and reliance on outdated manual irrigation scheduling results in water overuse, inefficiencies, and high operational costs.
High pressure on the Tagus River: As the primary water source, the Tagus experiences severe seasonal low flows during dry months. This creates friction among agricultural, urban, and environmental users—especially during droughts or regulatory restrictions.
Lack of performance indicators: Without quantifiable baselines or data, it is difficult to prioritize investments, justify improvements to authorities, or access financial tools for modernization.

The system is oversized in some areas and under-served in others, unable to flexibly adapt to extreme climate events. These limitations call for an urgent, structured technical intervention grounded in VWBA 2.0 for measuring and certifying impact.

Health Effects

Mitigation Measures and Solutions

The project proposes a robust, scalable solution grounded in water efficiency, smart automation, and intelligent monitoring:

Automated valves with demand-driven logic: Sectoral motorized valves will be programmed based on crop needs, time of day, and weather data. This eliminates over-supply to inactive zones, reduces excess pressure, and prevents runoff or breakage-related losses.
Integration of flow, pressure, and soil moisture sensors: Real-time data collection enables an operational efficiency model to detect anomalies and adjust irrigation accordingly. Soil moisture sensors provide feedback to match irrigation with soil water retention.
Predictive SCADA system: A centralized control system operates valves, schedules irrigation, detects anomalies, and reacts to unexpected events (e.g., rainfall). Predictive algorithms anticipate usage patterns and flag potential overuse.
Traceability and automated reporting: All data is recorded in a centralized database connected to the Aqua Positive platform, allowing transparent, replicable, and verifiable certification of Water Benefits.

Together, these solutions result in a quantifiable Water Benefit (VWB), as induced efficiency reduces the total volume required to maintain crop productivity—avoiding unnecessary extractions from the river and contributing to regional water balance.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 2 – Zero Hunger: Increases water-use efficiency for horticultural and fruit crops, enhancing local and national food security through stable, resilient agricultural production.
SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation: Improves agricultural water use efficiency and resource governance.
SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production: Reduces water inputs needed per unit of agricultural output, promoting sustainability across the food value chain.
SDG 13 – Climate Action: Increases agricultural system resilience to drought and climate variability through a responsive, data-driven irrigation network.
SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals: Built through collaboration among irrigation communities, technical advisors, monitoring platforms (e.g., Aqua Positive), and river basin authorities. The co-design and co-implementation structure is an example of multi-stakeholder water governance.

Project Information

Country:

Spain

Implementation

This project is executed in phased stages, combining infrastructure modernization with smart technologies and local capacity-building:

Technologies and Actions:

Installation of motorized sectoral control valves to enable precision irrigation per zone.
Hydraulic sectorization of the network into independent operational subzones.
Deployment of flow, pressure, and level sensors transmitting real-time data to a monitoring platform.
Integration of a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system to remotely manage the network.
Installation of a local weather station connected to the SCADA for evapotranspiration-based irrigation adjustments.

Execution Phases:

Technical diagnostic: Hydraulic mapping, operational audit, and dynamic modeling using EPANET or WaterGEMS.
System design and procurement: Definition of critical components, SCADA specification, and bidding process.
Installation: Assembly of valves, sensors, PLCs, control center, and connectivity tests.
Technical training: Capacity-building for irrigation staff on system operation, maintenance, and response protocols.
Monitoring and validation: Pre- and post-intervention flow data enable calculation of VWBs under VWBA 2.0, reported via platforms like SBTi for Water and CDP Water.

The system will be operated by the Irrigation Community, with technical support provided through a maintenance contract and remote software updates. Indicator tracking and Water Benefit validation will be managed via Aqua Positive, ensuring full traceability, verification, and transparency for public or regulatory reporting.

Understanding the Project

This project represents a complete transformation of an inefficient agricultural irrigation network into an automated, efficient, and verifiable system aligned with international standards.

It begins with a joint assessment by the irrigation community and technical experts, identifying inefficiencies in water transfers. From there, the solution is built on automation, sensors, climate monitoring, and remote control—executed in stages from hydraulic mapping to SCADA validation.

Alongside this, a shared governance model is developed: users are trained, data is integrated into platforms like Aqua Positive, and indicators are generated for reporting Volumetric Water Benefits (VWBs).

This intervention not only saves water but ensures that local horticultural and fruit crops remain viable under increasingly scarce conditions. The model is replicable for other agricultural communities across Spain and beyond—supporting sustainable food systems through efficiency, resilience, and full benefit traceability.

Estimated price:

1,10 €