Confederación Hidrográfica del Duero (CHD) is the Organism, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment, in charge of water management within the Duero´s river basin.
It is the competent authority for water management within their territory, which extends to the Spanish part of the Duero´s river Basin with a surface of 77.482,39 km2, covering more than 83.000 km of rivers and streams of different entities dispersed throughout seven Autonomous Communities (Castilla y León, Galicia, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja, Madrid and Asturias).
According to Article 23 of the Consolidated Text of the Water Law, approved by Legislative Royal Decree 1/2001, of 20 July, the CHD has the following responsibilities among others:
- The development of the Duero´s River Basin Hydrological Plan, as well as its monitoring and review.
- The administration and control of the Hydraulic Public Domain.
- The administration and control of the exploitation of general interest or those affecting more than one Autonomous Community.
- The project, construction and exploitation of works carried out by the Organism's own funds, and those entrusted to them by the State.
In the same way, the CHD has also the following attributions and duties:
- To grant authorizations and concessions related to the Hydraulic Public Domain, except those relating to works and actions of general interest of the State, which will correspond to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment.
- The inspection and monitoring of compliance with the conditions of concessions and authorizations related to the Hydraulic Public Domain.
- The realization of flow readings, hydrological studies, information on floods and controls of water quality.
- The study, design, execution, conservation, exploitation and improvement of the works included in its own plans, as well as those others that could be entrusted to them.
- The definition of objectives and quality programs according to hydrological planning.
- The developement, in the scope of its competences, of plans, programs and actions that aim at an adequate management of the demands, in order to promote the saving and the economic and environmental efficiency of the different uses of water through the exploitation of surface water and groundwater, in accordance with the Duero´s River Basin Hydrological Plan.
- The provision of all kinds of technical services related to the fulfillment of its specific purposes and, when requested, advice to the General Administration of the State, Autonomous Communities, Local Corporations and other public or private entities, as well as citizens.
Finally, and related to the URBAN GreenUP project, one of the mayor duties of the CHD is to prevent deterioration, protect and enhance the status of aquatic ecosystems, in order to achieve the good status of water bodies according to the Water Framework Directive.
For that purpose, the Duero´s River Basin Hydrological Plan includes measures for the recovery and improvement of the ecological status of rivers, by improving its functioning as ecosystems contributing to its sustainable management, encouraging public participation and environmental awareness.
Website
www.chduero.es/
Contacts
Guillermo Robles Martínez
Department of Environmental Management and Hydrology
grm@chduero.es