Legal Aspects Of Groundwater Ownership In Spain.

Spain's 1985 Water ~w gave special significance to the Registry and the Catalogue, two legal figures that allowed the co-existence of public and private groundwater ownership. Twenty years later, the situation of the Catalogue and the Registry is quite deficient. As a consequence, adequate groundwater management in Spain seems extremely difficult. This paper comments on the three main actions taken by the Government since 1985: first, the "Groundwater Registry and Catalogue Update Program" (ARYCA), a 42M€ project of the Ministry of Public Works, the results of which have not lived up to expectations; second, the Transient Disposition of the National Water Plan Law (2001) with regard to the "closure of the inscription period for private wells." The results of this action are still uncertain; and thirdly, the "Update Program for the Registry and Catalogue Books" (ALBERCA), a 155M€ initiative of the Ministry of the Environment which is yet to be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]