- Email: [email protected]
Cost and Price of Water for Irrigation in Spain
261
COST AND PRICE OF WATER FOR IRRIGATION I N SPAIN A . SANCHEZ GONZALEZ S e r v i c i o Geol6gic0, D i r e c c i 6 n 31, 29011 Madrid, Spain.
General
de
Obras H i d r & u l i c a s , Avda. P o r t u g a l ,
ABSTRACT A map showing t h e g e o g r a p h i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n of i r r i g a t e d l a n d i n Spain i s g i v e n . D i s t i n c t i o n s a r e made between a r e a s u s i n g groundwater and t h o s e u s i n g s u r f a c e w a t e r f o r i r r i g a t i o n purposes. I n f o r m a t i o n is g i v e n on t h e t o t a l c o s t of e x p l o i t i n g groundwater f o r i r r i g a t i o n . T h i s can v a r y from betwefn 35,000 t o 90,000 p t s / h a ( 3 2 0 t o 820 U.S. $ / h a ) - 4% i n t e r e s t r a t e , 1985 p r i c e s - depending upon h y d r o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n s and t h e s i z e of t h e works. Details are a l s o g i v e n o f t h e d i f f e r e n t t a r i f f s p a i d by u s e r s o f s u r f a c e water f o r i r r i g a t i o n i n t h e d i f f e r e n t r i v e r b a s i n s . C r i t e r i a e s t a b l i s h e d and used up t o 1986 i n d e t e r m i n i n g t h e s e t a r i f f s , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e r e l a t e d t o t h e a m o r t i t z a t i o n of c a p i t a l i n v e s t m e n t , show t h a t , as a g e n e r a l r u l e , i t i s i n f a c t t h e government t h a t pays t h e t o t a l c o s t o f a m o r t i z a t i o n . The c o s t of w a t e r f o r i r r i g a t i o n p u r p o s e s i n t h e Duero Basin is c a l c u l a t e d u s i n g d i f f e r e n t economic c r i t e r i a . C o s t s worked o u t w i t h d i f f e r e n t economic c r i t e r i a g i v e an an a v e r a g e of 16,000 p t s / h e c t a r e ( 1 4 5 U.S. $ / h a ) , more than t h r e e t i m e s t h e t a r i f f p a i d i n t h e y e a r u n d e r s t u d y ( 1 9 8 5 ) . F i n a l l y , changes made i n c r i t e r i a used t o c a l c u l a t e water t a r i f f s i n t r o d u c e d i n t h e new Spanish Water Law a r e d i s c u s s e d .
INTRODUCTION Mendizabal
,
a well-known
Liberal politician
t o have s a i d "Spain w i l l n e v e r be (ORTI,A.1984). T h i s
rich
while
of t h e l a s t c e n t u r y , i s r e p u t e d her
rivers
run
into
the sea"
h i g h l i g h t s t h e f a c t t h a t as much l a n d
s u r p r i s i n g statement
as p o s s i b l e s h o u l d be p u t under i r r i g a t i o n t o
overcome t h e
e f f e c t s our largely
a r i d o r s e m i - a r i d c l i m a t e h a s on a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n . three
million
hectares
t h i s only r e p r e s e n t s
16% of
the
At
present,
accounts
half
for
the
total
l a n d a r e under i r r i g a t i o n . Although
of
surface
area
under
cultivation, it
t o t a l a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n . I n macroeconomic t e r m s ,
a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n i n i r r i g a t e d a r e a s a c c o u n t s f o r 1.8% of t h e GNP a l t h o u g h
its relative the fact
importance is
that
foreign
much g r e a t e r
trade
figures
given i t s primary or b a s i c n a t u r e and for
agricultural
goods
are balanced-
(MAPA, 1 9 8 4 ) .
This s i t u a t i o n
comes as
the result
of managing water r e s o u r c e s , a l a r g e p a r t
262
of which
r u n i n t o t h e sea". F u r t h e r i n c r e a s e s i n t h e a c r e a g e p u t
"continues t o
under i r r i g a t i o n are expected i n t h e i n l a n d mesetas.
Funds t o
Ebro
carrying out
o r not
Cuadalquivir
i s the
and t h e
Spanish government t h a t
t o i n c l u d e them i n t h e n a t i o n a l p l a n s ( P l a n H i d r o l 6 g i c o
a study
Nacional o r Plan de Cuenca). Before doing t h i s , i n t o the
basins
t h e s e p r o j e c t s a r e c u r r e n t l y s h a r e d and
though i t
s u p p o r t e d by autonomous governments, d e c i d e s whether
and
s h o u l d be
carried out
economic a s p e c t s of s u p p l y i n g w a t e r f o r i r r i g a t i o n purposes as p a r t of
a p r o d u c t i o n p r o c e s s i n d i f f e r e n t p a r t s o f t h e c o u n t r y . The c o s t of water s h o u l d be c a l c u l a t e d
and i t s dependence on f a c t o r s such as t h e a r e a ' s n a t u r a l hydrolo-
gy, water s o u r c e s , s c a l e of
works,
previous
degree
of
r e s o u r c e development,
systems of i r r i g a t i o n used e t c . , be a n a l y s e d . a r t i c l e proposes t o g i v e a g e n e r a l i d e a of t h e c o s t of s u p p l y i n g
The f o l l o w i n g
w a t e r t o d i f f e r e n t a g r i c u l t u r a l areas i n Spain. More emphasis h a s been p l a c e d on t h e use of s u r f a c e water f o r i r r i g a t i o n purposes f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g r e a s o n s :
a)
It
is
quite
common
to
find
t h a t r e g i o n a l hydrogeological s t u d i e s
c a r r i e d o u t by government b o d i e s i n c l u d e d e t a i l s of t h e r e a l cost of
or estimated
groundwater use. T h i s kind of i n f o r m a t i o n i s a l s o t h e
, seminars and c o u r s e s on hydrogeology.
p a p e r s p r e s e n t e d i n symposiums Besides, the
cost of
s u b j e c t of
groundwater can e a s i l y be determined g i v e n a number
of physical v a r i a b l e s t h a t a r e
almost
always
already
known
and
a few
commercial c a t a l o g u e s . b)
Surface
water
used
is
to
irrigate
approximately 75% of t h e t o t a l
s u r f a c e a r e a i n Spain. However, a s t u d y o f t h e c o s t o f u s i n g s u r f a c e w a t e r for irrigation
purposes h a s
n o t been c a r r i e d o u t as h a s been done i n t h e
c a s e of groundwater. c ) I t i s commonly b e l i e v e d t h a t f a r m e r s u s i n g water from r i v e r s pay o n l y a
small p e r c e n t a g e
of the
c o s t of
t h e water
due t h a n k s t o t h e g r a n t s and
c r e d i t f a c i l i t i e s made a v a i l a b l e by t h e government. As f a r as a t t e m p t has
y e t been
made t o
determine t o
t h e r e f o r e propose t o do so o u r s e l v e s .
we know, no
what e x t e n t t h i s i s t r u e . W e
263 SURFACE AREA UNDER IRRIGATION. Table 1 - Distribution of land under irrigation River Basin
Area under Irrigation in l o 3
ha
according to
river basins.
Area irrigated using groundwater in lo3 ha
Norte
70
---
Duero
396
120
Tajo
214
45
Cuadiana
270
120
Guadalquivir
485
30
Sur
152
75
Segura
244
105
Jiicar
350
180
Ebro
685
20
Pirineo Oriental
65
35
I. Baleares
25
25
I. Canarias
44
35
3000
780
TOTAL
Fi
264
According t o s t a t i s t i c s i n t h e Anuario de E s t a d i s t i c a A g r a r i a , 3,003,800 h e c t a r e s of
land were under i r r i g a t i o n i n 1984. See t a b l e 1. These were d i s t r i -
b u t e d by autonomous communities
(in
of
thousands
hectares)
as
follows ( s e e
figure 1 for the s i t u a t i o n ) :
Community
Community
ha -
Calicia
Castilla-Le6n
A st u r i a s
Madrid
Can t a b r i a
Castilla-La Mancha
308,6
Valencia
351,9
P a i s Vasco
1,6
409,6
31,4
Navarra
66,5
Murcia
164,3
La R i o j a
48,2
Extremadura
214,7 646,7
Arag6n
37791
Andaluci a
CataluAa
260,l
Canarias
44,8
Baleares
Figure 2
i n c r e a s e i n i r r i g a t i o n s u r f a c e over the y e a r s . J u s t over a
shows t h e
m i l l i o n h e c t a r e s were under i r r i g a t i o n a t t h e b e g i n n i n g t r a d i t i o n a l zones, a r e a s i n Zaragoza, C a s t e l l 6 n , Murcia
of t h e
, V a l e n c i a , Cranada and
Almeria (many of which are as o l d a s t h e a r a b i c s e t t l e m e n t i n s u p p l i e d by
Esla and
the Castilla,
I m p e r i a l de
o t h e r s m a l l e r works l o c a t e d a t d i f f e r e n t Over t h e
next p a s t
century, i n the
S p a i n ) and o t h e r s
Arag6n c a n a l s ,
p o i n t s along
t h e main
and a h o s t of r i v e r courses.
40 y e a r s , t h e t o t a l s u r f a c e a r e a under i r r i g a t i o n i n c r e a s e d
by t h r e e hundred thousand
h e c t a r e s . Much
of t h i s
l a n d came
under i r r i g a t i o n
under t h e Gasset P l a n , 1902, and i t s l a t e r u p d a t e s . For
decades
before
1930,
the
governments encouraged p r i v a t e development o f
i r r i g a t e d areas by g i v i n g g r a n t s and before the
C i v i l War
broke o u t
special
i n Spain,
credits.
Joaquin C o s t a ' s
r e v i v a l took shape a t t h e same time as i t became could not
be c a r r i e d
o u t by
During
private initiative.
clear that
the
Republic
,
i d e a s f o r economic i r r i g a t i o n schemes
I n 1933 t h e P l a n Nacional de
Obras HidrAulicas was drawn up. I t s o b j e c t i v e was t o b r i n g 1,206,670 h e c t a r e s of
265
land under irrigation and
to
improve irrigation in 271,665 hectares of land
already irrigated.
(ldh 1
/
300 0
2.500
2.000
1.300
1.200 LOW
LO10
1.010
1.9)o
r040
1.mo
1.060
1.070
1.w
Lreo
Figure 2 . - Increase in the total surface area under irrigation.
Because of the precarious economic situation in Spain at the Plan could not be
carried out until the 50's.The overriding need to increase
food production and development made
to make
electricity supplies available
the construction of large dams and
for industrial
canals a priority in the
government's economic policies. The Ministry of Agriculture and Public Works
time, the 1933
the Ministry of
(MOPU) were responsible for carrying out the work established in
the National Plan before handing over the land
to local
farmers and homestea-
ders. Land came under irrigation at a rate of about 30,000ha/yr in the 60's and the first half of
the 70's.
advent of democracy The
,
During the
transition period
in Spain, with the
the rate dropped but picked up again later.
total area under irrigation, then, doubled between 1950 and 1985. The
government was
responsible for bringing 955,000 hectares under irrigation,
approximately two
thirds of
the increase. Private owners were responsible for
the rest by tapping groundwater resources.
266
P r i v a t e owners, however, were n o t t h e o n l y p e o p l e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r ment
groundwater
of
re6ource6.
Ministry
,
development of groundwater r e s o u r c e s
of
Agriculture
i n conjunction with
t h e develop-
programmes f o r t h e t h e IRYDA ( I n s t i t u t e
f o r A g r i c u l t u r a l Reform and Development) were r e s p o n s i b l e f o r i r r i g a t i n g 100,000 of t h e o r i g i n a l f i g u r e of 955,000 h e c t a r e s .
O f f i c i a l figures for the
distribution
of
irrigation
systems
t h e u s e of groundwater s o u r c e 6 are i n c o m p l e t e and
b a s i n s and
t e . Table 1 shows t h e i n f o r m a t i o n o b t a i n e d by t h e a u t h o r d i f f e r e n t Planes
i n hydrgraphic
largely inaccura-
from AVANCE
H i d r o l 6 g i c o s de Cuencas, a s e r i e s of s t u d i e s p u b l i s h e d by IGME
( G e o l o g i c a l and Mining I n s t i t u t e o f S p a i n ) , t h e Geology Department ( P u b l i c Works
8 0 of t h e
of t h e MOPU
P l a n n i n g M i n i s t r y ) , and a number of autonomous communi-
and Land
t i e s (1984 f i g u r e s )
COST OF GROUNDWATER FOR IRRIGATION PURPOSES Detailed analyses
of t h e
i r r i g a t i o n p u r p o s e s have
factors affecting been
the
the cost
subject
of
of groundwater u s e d f o r
numerous
articles
and p a p e r s
p r e s e n t e d by s p e c i a l i s t s (ANDOLZ, 1972; FERNANDEZ; 1977; TARJUELO, 1 9 8 6 ) . Hydrogeological c o n d i t i o n s
at well
sites
-
t h e d e p t h of t h e a q u i f e r , a q u i f e r
y i e l d and i t s randomness, and d e p t h t o water works
or
importance
of
demand
are
all
level factors
e x p l o i t i n g groundwater r e s o u r c e s . T h i s f a c t o r s
can
-
j o i n t l y with
t h e s i z e of
t h a t d e t e r m i n e t h e c o s t of vary
greatly
so
that the
e x t e n t t o which t h e y a f f e c t c o s t s can a l s o v a r y g r e a t l y . Using
1985 p r i c e s ,
variations
in
p u r p o s e s i n t h r e e g e n e r a l t y p e s of 1 9 8 6 ) . Most
groundwater r e s o u r c e s
the
cost
aquifer i n
of
groundwater f o r i r r i g a t i o n
S p a i n were
d e t e r m i n e d (SANCHEZ,
come w i t h i n t h e s e c a t e g o r i e s , which i n c l u d e
most of t h e e x i s t i n g e x p l o i t a t i o n s . See t a b l e 2 . Costs include the amortization of c a p i t a l investment (including
1-2 km of
h i g h t e n s i o n e l e c t r i c w i r e s ) , t h e c o s t o f pumping water a h e i g h t h up t o t h e t o p of t h e w e l l , and t h e c o n s e r v a t i o n and maintenance c o s t s . An i n t e r e s t r a t e
0.16 was
applied i n
the study
l o a n s a t t h e time. C a l c u l a t i o n s
-
the
of i=
p r e v a i l i n g r a t e o f i n t e r e s t f o r mortgage
were r e p e a t e d
u s i n g an i n t e r e s t r a t e o f
267 i = 0.04.
This
rate
of
c o n s i d e r e d t o be a d e q u a t e , a t l e a s t
is
interest
i n p u b l i c works programmes f o r z e r o r a t e i n f l a t i o n s i t u a t i o n s .
Table 2 Cost o f groundwater f o r i r r i g a t i o n purposes.
Well
Elevation
Interest
discharge
m
rate %
Formations
Water c o s t pts/m
$/m2
-
u s Coastal plains and l a r g e a l l ;
50-100
25-50
10-50
0.04
2.5-5.0
0.023-0.045
0.16
6.9- 16 0.063-0.145
0.04
4.5- 10 0.041-0.090
0.16
10
-
30
0.04
7
-
17 0.064-0.155
a c r e a g e i r r i g a t e d by t h e t h r e e t y p e s o f a q u i f e r , and t h e systems o f
i r r i g a t i o n u s e d , t h e c o s t of water p e r h e c t a r e r i n g limestone
Mancha P l a i n ,
1985 depending
the
Duero
p l a i n s and neighbou-
upon t h e
interest rate
/
year
applied. I n
(455 and t h e La
t o 7O,000-120,000 p t s / h e c t a r e (635-1090 $ / h a ) f o r t h e
t h i s rose
h i g h i n t e r e s t r a t e , o r 45,000 of
in coastal
between 50,000 p t s and 35,000 p t s
formations is
320 US $ / y e a r ) , i n
South
0.090-0.272
75-150
i n t h e mesetas
Given t h e
0.033-0.069
50-100
G r a n u l a r sedimen t a r y formations
3.6-7.6
25-50
v i a l formations
Inland limestones
0.16
-
Basin,
150,000 and 90,000 p t s / h a
90,000 p t s / h a (410-820 $ / h a ) f o r t h e lower r a t e .
where
(1360
and
the 820
a q u i f e r is o v e r e x p l o i t e d , w a t e r c o s t s $/ha)
respectively,
depending upon
whether t h e h i g h o r low r a t e of i n t e r e s t i s a p p l i e d . The c o s t of water i n t h e two mesetas i s h i g h , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n view o f t h e c r o p s produced
-
cheap s e a s o n a l c r o p s
cost-efficiency c r i t e r i a whether l a n d s h o u l d be
such
would n o t irrigated or
as
beet,
maize,
alfalfa,
e t c . Indeed,
seem t o be used by f a r m e r s when d e c i d i n g on n o t . There
a r e two
important reasons f o r
268 this: a ) The
M i n i s t r y of
Agriculture encourages farmers t o convert u n i r r i g a t e d
land t o i r r i g a t e d land loans
at
very
low
by g i v i n g
non-returnable subsidies
rates.
interest
i n t e r e s t p a i d has v a r i e d w i t h t h e one time
size
of t h e s e g r a n t s and t h e
agricultural policies
in force
a t any
p r e v a i l i n g economic c o n d i t i o n s . G e n e r a l l y , however, i t
and with
may be s a i d t h a t
The
and long-term
t h e y have l e d t o a r e d u c t i o n i n of between
c a p i t a l investment
t h a t 625,654 h e c t a r e s of private i n i t i a t i v e
l a n d were
with t h e
a l l the irrigation
a third
systems
using
of a m o r t i z i n g
and a h a l f . O f f i c i a l f i g u r e s show i r r i g a t i o n as
p u t under
a i d of
the cost
a r e s u l t of
IRYDA (BOSQUE, 1986), i . e . v i r t u a l l y
groundwater
resources
i n s t a l l e d by
private individuals. b) A s
f a r as
farmers on t h e m e s e t a s are concerned i r r i g a t i n g
many small
t h e i r l a n d means t h e equivalent t o
c o n s o l i d a t i o n of
c r e a t i n g one
the family
s o u r c e of
income, t h e
or two s t a b l e j o b s and t h i s t h e y a r e p r e p a r e d
t o pay f o r .
COST OF SURFACE WATER FOR IRRIGATION PURPOSES. For t h e p u r p o s e s of w a t e r r e s o u r c e management, a r e a s t h a t u s e s u r f a c e w a t e r f o r irrigation f a l l into three categories: 1- Areas
i r r i g a t e d by g o v e r n m e n t - b u i l t p r o j e c t s t h a t r e g u l a t e and c h a n n e l
water t o
these
areas
(
dams,
canals,
pumping
stations,
e t c ) . These
i n s t a l l a t i o n s a r e a l s o m a i n t a i n e d and o p e r a t e d by Water Agencies (Confeder a c i o n e s H i d r o g r k f i c a s ) These a g e n c i e s c o l l e c t money e v e r y y e a r area in
t h e form
of a
tax or
tariff in
return for
from e a c h
water supplied f o r
i r r i g a t i o n . About 1 m i l l i o n h e c t a r e s of l a n d a r e s u b j e c t t o t h i s t a r i f f . 2- Areas where i r r i g a t i o n systems have n o t been by t h e
government b u t
rivers that h a s been
which b e n e f i t
b u i l t nor
a r e maintained
from t h e p r e s e n c e of dams a l o n g t h e
have been b u i l t and p a i d f o r by
t h e government.
S i n c e water
made more r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e i n t h e s e areas, a t a x o r w a t e r canon
(canon de r e g u l a c i h ) i s l e v i e d . T h i s i s p a i d a n n u a l l y and t h e amount p a i d
269
varies a c c o r d i n g t o t h e c o s t of b u i l d i n g and m a i n t a i n i n g t h e dam. I n 1978, a t o t a l of about 700,000 h e c t a r e s
(ALVAREZ e t
a l . , 1981) was s u b j e c t t o
t h i s canon.
3- Other
areas, half
t h e s e two t a x e s s i n c e
a million they
h e c t a r e s , are
cannot
be
not subject
included
in
t o e i t h e r of
either
t h e two
of
categories. Before t h e
Water Law came i n t o e f f e c t , t a r i f f s were l e v i e d on
p r e s e n t Spanish
each a r e a under i r r i g a t i o n . The t o t a l amount
to
be
was
paid
made
up
of by
d i f f e r e n c i a t i n g t h e involved t h r e e terms: a) a
c o n t r i b u t i o n towards
t h e government
t h e a m o r t i z a t i o n of c a p i t a l investment made by
in infrastructures
l e g i s l a t i o n regulating
for irrigation
t h e payment
purposes. According t o
of t a r i f f s t h e u s e r s ' c o n t r i b u t i o n t o
t h e c o s t of a p r o j e c t was c a l c u l a t e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e
terms l a i d
down i n
t h e decree a u t h o r i s i n g t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e works by t h e government. I n general, t h i s
meant t h a t
u s e r s amortized
half the
c a p i t a l employed, a t
c u r r e n t p r i c e s , a t a n i n t e r e s t r a t e of 1.5% p e r annum o v e r
h i s t o r i c a l not
a p e r i o d of 25 y e a r s . b ) D i r e c t c o s t s - t h e s e i n c l u d e t h e c o s t of p e r s o n n e l working
on t h e s i t e ,
s p a r e p a r t s , f u e l , e l e c t r i c i t y f o r pumping, minor r e p a i r s , e t c . . c ) Overheads
-
t h e s e i n c l u d e g e n e r a l and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e expenses i n c u r r e d
by Water Agencies i n a r e a s under i r r i g a t i o n . These basis
of
the
Agency's
annual
are c a l c u l a t e d
on t h e
e x p e n d i t u r e and an e s t a b l i s h e d system of
allocations. The water r e g u l a t i o n canon i s made up of t h e same t h r e e t e r m s , ted
in
a
similar
fashion.
When
an
a r e a under i r r i g a t i o n pays a t a r i f f and
b e n e f i t s from t h e presence of r e s e r v o i r s b u i l t by those s p e c i f i c a l l y
for the
purpose of
and i s c a l c u l a -
t h e government
which are n o t
p r o v i d i n g water for i r r i g a t i o n t o t h a t
a r e a , a second sum i s l e v i e d o v e r and above t h e s p e c i f i c t a r i f f . ( t a b l e 3 ) . The t o t a l s u r f a c e a r e a under i r r i g a t i o n i n each
basin is
divided i n t o i r r i g a -
t i o n zones. D e t a i l s of a l l investments made i n t h e s e zones and t h e d a t e on which investments were made are a v a i l a b l e . Terms b ) and c ) are c a l c u l a t e d on t h e b a s i s
270 of t h e water Agency's a c c o u n t s f o r t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r . Except f o r
the
J u c a r B a s i n , t h e t a r i f f s l e v i e d are n o t r e l a t e d t o t h e amount
o f water f a r m e r s a c t u a l l y u s e .
Table
3
g i v e s d e t a i l s of t h e
t a r i f f s imposed i n
1985 by t h e d i f f e r e n t Water Agencies. TABLE 3 Average t a r i f f s f o r s u r f a c e w a t e r i r r i g a t i o n (1985)
No of
River
Hectares
areas w i t h
basin
i t s own
Max.
Min.
Weigthed
irrigated
tariff
tariff
mean
at the
pts/ha
pts/ha
pts/ha
--
tariff
tariff
NORTE
3
7.000
6.089
657
3.339
DUERO
51
168.851
13.094
1.393
11.883
TAJO
13
95.658
15.795
703
7.208
GUADIANA (1)
10
128.217
18.451
602
5.561
GUADALQUIVIR
22
169.754
18.692
738
5.836
SUR
12
22.564
27.890
183
7.981
7
62.318
6.373
240
869
14
111.850
20.122
600
3.958
8
16.580
7.340
SEGURA (1) ( 2 ) JUCAR ( 1) EBRO
PIRINEO ORIENTAL
626
1.753
(1) I n c l u d e s a l s o a r e a s s u b j e c t o n l y t o water canon.
( 2 ) A.T.S.
( Tajo Segura Aqueduct) t a r i f f s n o t i n c l u d e d .
To c o n v e r t p t s t o US $ d i v i d e by 110.
CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS THE AMORTIZATION OF PUBLIC WORKS When c a l c u l a t i n g t h e u s e r ' s a l r e a d y been
contribution t o
stipulated that,
as a
the cost
of p u b l i c
works i t h a s
g e n e r a l r u l e , u s e r s s h o u l d a m o r t i z e 50% of
t h e c a p i t a l employed,I. The amount due p e r annum i s t h e n c a l c u l a t e d u s i n g t h e f o l l o w i n g formula:
A = 0,5 I
.
. (1,015) 25 (1,01525 - 1) 0,015
271 The government t h u s s u b s i d i z e s 50% o f t h e c a p i t a l
c o s t s which,
w h i l e t h i s may
be j u s t i f i e d i n t h e c a s e o f l a r g e r e s e r v o i r s because of t h e b e n e f i t s t h e y a f f o r d (flood protection, increased a g r i c u l t u r a l it is
n o t so
production, d i l u t i o n
of w a s t e , e t c . )
j u s t i f i a b l e i n t h e c a s e o f main c a n a l s , secondary c a n a l s , s e r v i c e
roads, large-scale repairs, e t c . A s f a r a s t h e 1.5% annual i n t e r e s t r a t e
the July
1911 Law
i s concerned,
this rate
was f i x e d by
and r e p r e s e n t s a b i g c o n c e s s i o n i n monetary t e r m s . According
t o t h e same L a w , u s e r s must s a t i s f y payment between one and f i v e y e a r s a f t e r t h e completion of
For v a r i o u s r e a s o n s i t h a s
t h e works.
ment t h i s c l a u s e . There a r e
still
many
users
been i m p o s s i b l e t o imple-
amortizing
dams
built
i n the
f o r t i e s , f i f t i e s and even e a r l i e r .
r F i g u r e 3.- Annual i n v e s t m e n t s made by t h e M.O.P.U. s o u r c e s works. I f , moreover
, we c o n s i d e r t h a t
i n i r r i g a t i o n and water r e -
I i s t h e t o t a l c o s t o f t h e works c o n s t r u c -
ted, a t h i s t o r i c a l not present prices, the users'contribution
in real
terms i s
272
small. Figure
3 g i v e s an i d e a of t h e importance o f i n f l a t i o n .
Annual i n v e s t m e n t s made
by t h e D i r e c c i 6 n General d e Obras H i d r k u l i c a s i n i r r i g a t i o n schemes
and i n f r a s -
t r u c t u r e f o r w a t e r r e s o u r c e management ( e s s e n t i a l l y l a r g e dams) a r e shown. These do n o t i n c l u d e s p e c i f i c a l l o c a t i o n s i n t h e a n n u a l
budget f o r
flood prevention,
r i v e r embankment works, w a t e r s u p p l y and waste w a t e r t r e a t m e n t works. F i g u r e s show
t h e huge
i n v e s t m e n t made
i n t h e 50's which c o n t i n u e d t h r o u g h o u t
t h e 6 0 ' s b e f o r e dropping o f f a g a i n .
An a t t e m p t has been irrigation
tariffs
made i n and
t h i s study
what
might
t o compare
be
the amortization
term o f
c o n s i d e r e d t o be t h e i r r e a l c o s t . The
f o l l o w i n g c r i t e r i a were u s e d : 1-
The t o t a l c a p i t a l c o s t i s a m o r t i s e d plate
the
existence
of
reasons
s u b s i d i s i n g a p r o j e c t . However reservoir is
that
supplied is
it
an extreme
which d o e s
n o t contem-
of g e n e r a l i n t e r e s t t h a t would j u s t i f y should
be
remembered
that
where a
used f o r producing e l e c t r i c i t y , t h e l i c e n s e e pays an a n n u i t y
which r e d u c e s t h e amount itself
,
-
exploits
u s e r s have the
d e d u c t e d from
If it
t o pay.
electricity, the t a r i f f .
the
is t h e
value
of
This p r a c t i c e
under t h e new l e g i s l a t i o n . I f on t h e o t h e r hand, t h e
Water Agency
the e l e c t r i c i t y
h a s been c o n t i n u e d r e s e r v o i r i s used t o
p r o v i d e w a t e r f o r i n d u s t r y and urban developments t h e s e u s e r s must pay t h e normal w a t e r
canon. I n
m u l t i p l e u s e s t o which b e n e f i t most project 2-
s h o r t , w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n of f l o o d p r e v e n t i o n , t h e reservoirs a r e
put a r e
c o n s i d e r e d and
total c o s t of the
d i r e c t l y from t h e i r p r e s e n c e must pay t h e
.
The c o s t of l i v i n g i n d e x , p u b l i s h e d by t h e I n s t i t u t o Nacional tica
t h o s e who
(National
Statistics
Institute)
is
used
d i f f e r e n t works once t h e d a t e of completion i s
to
revise
known and
de Estadisthe cost of
before calcula-
ting the t a r i f f .
3-
A 4% i n t e r e s t r a t e i s used. T h i s is u s u a l l y c o n s i d e r e d t o be a d e q u a t e f o r p u b l i c investment programmes when i n f l a t i o n is supposedly z e r o .
4-
The p e r i o d f o r a m o r t i z a t i o n i s i n c r e a s e d from 25
t o 50
y e a r s . By s u b s t i -
273 tuting the
p e r i o d of time given t o f i n a n c e c r e d i t s
consonant with t h e working
l i f e of
by t h e p e r i o d of time
of p r o j e c t ,
t h i s kind
t h e amount o f
money p a i d i n one y e a r e f f e c t i v e l y r e p r e s e n t s t h e r e a l c o s t of a m o r t i z i n g t h e p r o j e c t , n o t t h e c o s t of repaying a l o a n . C a l c u l a t i o n s have been made f o r t h e 51 i r r i g a t i o n
t a r i f f s levied
i n t h e Duero
Basin. They have been d i v i d e d i n t o 10 l a r g e groups depending on which r i v e r t h e y a r e s u p p l i e d by. Table aggregated by
4 shows
groups a c c o r d i n g
the revisions to rivers.
made i n
each of
t h e 51 t a r i f f s
was made by weighting
Aggregation
each t a r i f f with i t s corresponding i r r i g a t e d a r e a . The amount of money p a i d p e r y e a r by t h e u s e r s m u s t be o f 10
t o obtain
the fixed
c o s t of a m o r t i z a t i o n
m u l t i p l i e d by
a factor
i n t h e Porma and R i a z a r i v e r s
and 3'7 f o r t h e C a r r i o n River. The mean average f o r t h e whole b a s i n i s 15.6. On t h e bottom l i n e of Table 4 t h e sum t o t a l of t h e
shown.
average r e v i s e d
t a r i f f s are
Annual f i g u r e s f o r d i r e c t and overhead c o s t s as g i v e n by Water Agencies c o s t of
have been a c c e p t e d . Using t h e s e c r i t e r i a , t h e annual
i r r i g a t i o n , which
is f a i r l y uniform, i s about 16.000 p t s / h a (145 US $ / h a ) . T h i s i s a l o t l e s s t h a n t h e c o s t of groundwater
not only
in this
basin
but i n
groundwater works i n
general.
~~
~ ~ c t a r eIrrigated s
Anurrlration 0 1 works
16.498
45.8%
1.318
4.553
18.752
34.663
326
16.952
'39
168.8S1
2.SO
4.40
1.11
10.21
16.00
6.91
4.50
12.13
2.79
6.9
19.2)
21.27
42.80
43.65
46.41
21.67
11.83
60.81
14.61
73.40
29.85
1.33
6.29
7.11
7.06
8.95
6.50
6.60
6.41
13.45
1.54
rota1 carit1
42.56
16.06
54.40
51.83
6S.M
44.25
31.50
71.84
50.26
89.64
44.39
Revised ~ m r l i 2 a r I o n
95.40
93.25
15.60
13.19
108.21
16b.39
121.40
lJ.88
143.91
M.63
109.W
128.16
126.81
125.52
124.M
163.64
194.56
I4S.92
141.26
I82.M
1S1.49
14.1.10
Dlrecl colts O"Wt'*&5
Revised l a r l l t
5.91
28.884
13.45
214
IRRIGATION TARIFFS UNDER THE NEW WATER LAW. The
example
the
of
charged t o the farmers purposes. a)
Duero and
Basin
the
shows t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e t a r i f f s
real
of
cost
surface
water
for i r r i g a t i o n
T h i s i d e a can s t i l l be s t r e s s e d by t h e f o l l o w i n g c o n s i d e r a t i o n s :
the recalculated
are t o be p a i d o v e r a p e r i o d of 5 0
amortization c o s t s
y e a r s , i n s t e a d o f t h e 25 a c t u a l l y a p p l i e d . b)
Intercalary interests, i.e. of p r o j e c t
those t h a t a r e generated
under c o n s t r u c t i o n ,
and up t o t h e y e a r i n which u s e r s begin
t o pay, have n o t been c o n s i d e r e d . I n major
c)
during t h e period
p r o j e c t s both
these periods
of time
are l o n g , as can be s e e n from t h e f a c t t h a t d a t a on i n v e s t m e n t s
include
d a t a on dams begun o v e r f o r t y y e a r s ago.
When e v e r works i s
i s applied,
the t a r i f f
of t h e c o n s t r u c t e d
the amortization
extended t o t h e t o t a l number o f h e c t a r e s w i t h i n t h e i r r i g a t i o n
zone and n o t t o r e a s o n s why
those
development).
funds, Since
actually
only
r a t i o of
irrigated.
a project
difficulty
t a r i f f s , t a r i f f s c a n n o t be i r r i g a t e d . The
are
completion of
the
a v a i l i b i l i t y of
that
those
in
areas
may be d e l a y e d o r impeded (
restructuring that
collected for
are many
There
the
l a n d , urban
a r e under i r r i g a t i o n pay
those areas
hectares theoretically
t h a t can
n o t be
s e r v i c e d by c a n a l s and
t h o s e a c t u a l l y i r r i g a t e d i n t h e Duero b a s i n i s 1 . 3 0 . d)
The amount of money those
legally
c o l l e c t e d from t a r i f f s h a s always been
expected.
c a l c u l a t e d i n terms of t h e differential
deficit
even t h e t o t a l amount ting costs
in
of
Operating expenses inflation
c o l l e c t e d has
the irrigated by u s e r s
jects,
theoretically
should
i n t h e t a r i f f are
included
incurred
the
previous
y e a r . The
i s t h e n c a r r i e d f o r w a r d . Thus, n o t been s u f f i c i e n t
t o s a t i s f y opera-
a r e a s . Water Agencies were a u t h o r i s e d t o
r e t a i n t h e money p a i d which
costs
lower t h a n
towards t h e be
amortization cost
of pro-
r e c e i v e d by t h e T r e a s u r y . Even
s o , t h e Exchequer h a s t o t r a n s f e r e v e r y y e a r money t o
Water Agencies i n
o r d e r t o b a l a n c e t h e i r revenues and e x p e n d i t u r e s . There
would
seem
to
be
sufficient
evidence
to
show t h a t , i n o b j e c t i v e
275
economic terms, it is the government
that in fact affords the
cost of irriga-
tion projects at least as far as the Ministry of Public Works and Land Planning investments are concerned.
Irrigation tariffs do not
take into consideration
investments made by the Ministry of Agriculture. The
situation has
been modified and rationalised under the new Water Law,
which introduces criteria already
implemented in
its by-law
(Reglamento del
Dominio Pdblico Hidrlulico). These
criteria affect all
the most
important points: canons and tariffs
should cover the totality of the government's investment, the period zation is increased to
50 years,
of amorti-
the capital to be amortized is revalued each
year, the interest rate applied is 4% , operating costs are established on the basis of
the
estimated costs
projects. Works undertaken before
for
the
the new
year. These conditions apply to new law
came
into
force
will have
amortization annuities revalued using the appropriate formula. The
effectiveness of
these new measures
will
years. A fore-runner, Law 5 2 / 1980 , regulates the exploitation of
the Tajo
be seen over the next few economic
Segura Aqueduct. This is
transfer of water resources from one basin to another
regime
for the
a huge project f o r the
at a
rate of
30 m3/s.
Water is distributed in the provinces of Murcia, Alicante, and Almeria (Postrasvase). Capital investment made by the Ministry of Public Works and Land Planning up to
1985 has been , at current prices, 44,723 and 26,998 million pesetas (407
and 246 million U.S. $ ) respectively for the two stages of the project. (Trasvase and Postrasvase.) The water
tariffs to be levied f o r the first stage of the project (Trasvase)
are highly complex since a large number
of
items must
be
included in their
calculation, differentiations made between the maximum capacity of the transfer works, the maximum volume transferable at different stages of operation, and the amounts of water actually transferred. The most important aspects are:
-
fixed operating costs per
annum (personnel, conservation, overheads)
are divided by the theoretical demand in areas under irrigation and the unit price is obtained in terms o f pts/m3.
276
-
are c a l c u l a t e d i n terms of 60% of t h e
capital costs
r e v a l u e d e v e r y two y e a r s -
multiplied
by
0.04.
capital invested
This
figure
-
i s then
d i v i d e d by t h e maximum volume t r a n s f e r a b l e t o o b t a i n t h e u n i t v a l u e .
-
an e s t i m a t e d
unit price
is established
for
variable operating costs
(power, purchase of w a t e r ) .
-
annual d e f i c i t s i n o p e r a t i n g c o s t s
are
and
added to
are calculated the
based on
carried
forward
t h e t o t a l amount of c a p i t a l i n v e s t e d by t h e government.
-
the unit
v a l u e of
the f i r s t
two addends
t h e annual volume s t i p u l a t e d i n t h e
contract, not
t h e amount consumed.
V a r i a b l e c o s t s are based on t h e l a t t e r . The r e s u l t
i s similar
t o a s e r v i c e p r o v i d e d by a p u b l i c company t h a t c o v e r s
i t s o p e r a t i n g c o s t s and c o l l e c t s a l e v y for
ment.
A t present,
the base
of t h e
the recovery
levy is
about 35
i n v e s t e d , meaning t h a t water for i r r i g a t i o n i s s u b s i d i z e d .
i s covered
of government i n v e s t -
% of t h e t o t a l c a p i t a l P a r t of t h i s s u b s i d y
t a r i f f charged on t h e w a t e r s u p p l i e d t o m u n i c i p a l i t i e s ,
through t h e
s i n c e i n t h i s c a s e a c o e f f i c i e n t of 0 , 0 8 i s used i n s t e a d of 0 . 0 4 , p l u s and added amount of 2 pts/m 3 . The t a r i f f s a p p l i e d
d u r i n g t h e two y e a r p e r i o d 1985-6 were: Irrigation
Supply
3 wm-
$/m-3
a ) p r o j e c t c o s t recovery
0.013
0.044
b ) fixed operating costs
0.012
0.012
c ) variable operating costs
0.062
0.062
Where a
farmer was
a l l o t t e d 6,000
w i t h t h i s amount of water an amount
l e s s than the
m3/ha and had been i n f a c t been s u p p l i e d
i n 1986, he would have p a i d 57,300 p t s / h a
(521 $/ha)
real c o s t but a l o t higher than o t h e r o f f i c i a l i r r i g a -
tion t a r i f f s i n force.
REFERENCES A l v a r e z , M., Fernbndez, R and A l c a r a z , A . J . , 1981. Cfinones de r e g u l a c i 6 n y M-1.030. t a r i f a s de r i e g o motivadas p o r o b r a s h i d r b u l i c a s .
211
Andolz, J . , 1972. Coste d e l - a g u a s u b t e r r b n e a p a r a a b a s t e c i m i e n t o urbano. Bol. S e r v i c i o Geol6gic0, nu 36, J u n i o . Bosque, J . , 1984. "Del INC a1 IRYDA: A n d l i s i s de 10s r e s u l t a d o s o b t e n i d o s p o r l a p o l i t i c a de Colonizaci6n p o s t e r i o r a l a g u e r r a c i v i l " , A g r i c u l t u r a Sociedad no 32, J u l i o , pp, 153-193. Fernbndez, J . A . . Coste d e l agua Subterrbnea. Colecci6n Informe. I n s t i t u t o Geol6gico y Minero de Espafia, P u b l i c a c i o n e s d e l M i n i s t e r i o de I n d u s t r i a y Energia. MAPA, Anuario de E s t a d i s t i c a A g r a r i a , 1984. Alimentaci6n.
M i n i s t e r i o de
A g r i c u l t u r a , Pesca y
O r t i , A., 1984. " P o l l t i c a h i d r b u l i c a y c u e s t i 6 n S o c i a l " . dad, 32, J u l i o , pp. 7-107.
A g r i c u l t u r a y Socie-
SBnchez,
A., 1986. "Aspectos econ6micos M I N E R A , Diciembre, pp 23-30.
del
agua
subterrAnea".
INDUSTRIA
T a r j u e l o , J.M., 1986. Estirnaci6n d e l c o s t e de a p l i c a c i d n de agua con r i e g o por a s p e r s i 6 n en l a l l a n u r a Norte de l a p r o v i n c i a de A l b a c e t e . Caja de Ahorros de Albace t e .
COST AND PRICE OF WATER FOR IRRIGATION I N SPAIN A . SANCHEZ GONZALEZ S e r v i c i o Geol6gic0, D i r e c c i 6 n 31, 29011 Madrid, Spain.
General
de
Obras H i d r & u l i c a s , Avda. P o r t u g a l ,
ABSTRACT A map showing t h e g e o g r a p h i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n of i r r i g a t e d l a n d i n Spain i s g i v e n . D i s t i n c t i o n s a r e made between a r e a s u s i n g groundwater and t h o s e u s i n g s u r f a c e w a t e r f o r i r r i g a t i o n purposes. I n f o r m a t i o n is g i v e n on t h e t o t a l c o s t of e x p l o i t i n g groundwater f o r i r r i g a t i o n . T h i s can v a r y from betwefn 35,000 t o 90,000 p t s / h a ( 3 2 0 t o 820 U.S. $ / h a ) - 4% i n t e r e s t r a t e , 1985 p r i c e s - depending upon h y d r o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n s and t h e s i z e of t h e works. Details are a l s o g i v e n o f t h e d i f f e r e n t t a r i f f s p a i d by u s e r s o f s u r f a c e water f o r i r r i g a t i o n i n t h e d i f f e r e n t r i v e r b a s i n s . C r i t e r i a e s t a b l i s h e d and used up t o 1986 i n d e t e r m i n i n g t h e s e t a r i f f s , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e r e l a t e d t o t h e a m o r t i t z a t i o n of c a p i t a l i n v e s t m e n t , show t h a t , as a g e n e r a l r u l e , i t i s i n f a c t t h e government t h a t pays t h e t o t a l c o s t o f a m o r t i z a t i o n . The c o s t of w a t e r f o r i r r i g a t i o n p u r p o s e s i n t h e Duero Basin is c a l c u l a t e d u s i n g d i f f e r e n t economic c r i t e r i a . C o s t s worked o u t w i t h d i f f e r e n t economic c r i t e r i a g i v e an an a v e r a g e of 16,000 p t s / h e c t a r e ( 1 4 5 U.S. $ / h a ) , more than t h r e e t i m e s t h e t a r i f f p a i d i n t h e y e a r u n d e r s t u d y ( 1 9 8 5 ) . F i n a l l y , changes made i n c r i t e r i a used t o c a l c u l a t e water t a r i f f s i n t r o d u c e d i n t h e new Spanish Water Law a r e d i s c u s s e d .
INTRODUCTION Mendizabal
,
a well-known
Liberal politician
t o have s a i d "Spain w i l l n e v e r be (ORTI,A.1984). T h i s
rich
while
of t h e l a s t c e n t u r y , i s r e p u t e d her
rivers
run
into
the sea"
h i g h l i g h t s t h e f a c t t h a t as much l a n d
s u r p r i s i n g statement
as p o s s i b l e s h o u l d be p u t under i r r i g a t i o n t o
overcome t h e
e f f e c t s our largely
a r i d o r s e m i - a r i d c l i m a t e h a s on a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n . three
million
hectares
t h i s only r e p r e s e n t s
16% of
the
At
present,
accounts
half
for
the
total
l a n d a r e under i r r i g a t i o n . Although
of
surface
area
under
cultivation, it
t o t a l a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n . I n macroeconomic t e r m s ,
a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n i n i r r i g a t e d a r e a s a c c o u n t s f o r 1.8% of t h e GNP a l t h o u g h
its relative the fact
importance is
that
foreign
much g r e a t e r
trade
figures
given i t s primary or b a s i c n a t u r e and for
agricultural
goods
are balanced-
(MAPA, 1 9 8 4 ) .
This s i t u a t i o n
comes as
the result
of managing water r e s o u r c e s , a l a r g e p a r t
262
of which
r u n i n t o t h e sea". F u r t h e r i n c r e a s e s i n t h e a c r e a g e p u t
"continues t o
under i r r i g a t i o n are expected i n t h e i n l a n d mesetas.
Funds t o
Ebro
carrying out
o r not
Cuadalquivir
i s the
and t h e
Spanish government t h a t
t o i n c l u d e them i n t h e n a t i o n a l p l a n s ( P l a n H i d r o l 6 g i c o
a study
Nacional o r Plan de Cuenca). Before doing t h i s , i n t o the
basins
t h e s e p r o j e c t s a r e c u r r e n t l y s h a r e d and
though i t
s u p p o r t e d by autonomous governments, d e c i d e s whether
and
s h o u l d be
carried out
economic a s p e c t s of s u p p l y i n g w a t e r f o r i r r i g a t i o n purposes as p a r t of
a p r o d u c t i o n p r o c e s s i n d i f f e r e n t p a r t s o f t h e c o u n t r y . The c o s t of water s h o u l d be c a l c u l a t e d
and i t s dependence on f a c t o r s such as t h e a r e a ' s n a t u r a l hydrolo-
gy, water s o u r c e s , s c a l e of
works,
previous
degree
of
r e s o u r c e development,
systems of i r r i g a t i o n used e t c . , be a n a l y s e d . a r t i c l e proposes t o g i v e a g e n e r a l i d e a of t h e c o s t of s u p p l y i n g
The f o l l o w i n g
w a t e r t o d i f f e r e n t a g r i c u l t u r a l areas i n Spain. More emphasis h a s been p l a c e d on t h e use of s u r f a c e water f o r i r r i g a t i o n purposes f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g r e a s o n s :
a)
It
is
quite
common
to
find
t h a t r e g i o n a l hydrogeological s t u d i e s
c a r r i e d o u t by government b o d i e s i n c l u d e d e t a i l s of t h e r e a l cost of
or estimated
groundwater use. T h i s kind of i n f o r m a t i o n i s a l s o t h e
, seminars and c o u r s e s on hydrogeology.
p a p e r s p r e s e n t e d i n symposiums Besides, the
cost of
s u b j e c t of
groundwater can e a s i l y be determined g i v e n a number
of physical v a r i a b l e s t h a t a r e
almost
always
already
known
and
a few
commercial c a t a l o g u e s . b)
Surface
water
used
is
to
irrigate
approximately 75% of t h e t o t a l
s u r f a c e a r e a i n Spain. However, a s t u d y o f t h e c o s t o f u s i n g s u r f a c e w a t e r for irrigation
purposes h a s
n o t been c a r r i e d o u t as h a s been done i n t h e
c a s e of groundwater. c ) I t i s commonly b e l i e v e d t h a t f a r m e r s u s i n g water from r i v e r s pay o n l y a
small p e r c e n t a g e
of the
c o s t of
t h e water
due t h a n k s t o t h e g r a n t s and
c r e d i t f a c i l i t i e s made a v a i l a b l e by t h e government. As f a r as a t t e m p t has
y e t been
made t o
determine t o
t h e r e f o r e propose t o do so o u r s e l v e s .
we know, no
what e x t e n t t h i s i s t r u e . W e
263 SURFACE AREA UNDER IRRIGATION. Table 1 - Distribution of land under irrigation River Basin
Area under Irrigation in l o 3
ha
according to
river basins.
Area irrigated using groundwater in lo3 ha
Norte
70
---
Duero
396
120
Tajo
214
45
Cuadiana
270
120
Guadalquivir
485
30
Sur
152
75
Segura
244
105
Jiicar
350
180
Ebro
685
20
Pirineo Oriental
65
35
I. Baleares
25
25
I. Canarias
44
35
3000
780
TOTAL
Fi
264
According t o s t a t i s t i c s i n t h e Anuario de E s t a d i s t i c a A g r a r i a , 3,003,800 h e c t a r e s of
land were under i r r i g a t i o n i n 1984. See t a b l e 1. These were d i s t r i -
b u t e d by autonomous communities
(in
of
thousands
hectares)
as
follows ( s e e
figure 1 for the s i t u a t i o n ) :
Community
Community
ha -
Calicia
Castilla-Le6n
A st u r i a s
Madrid
Can t a b r i a
Castilla-La Mancha
308,6
Valencia
351,9
P a i s Vasco
1,6
409,6
31,4
Navarra
66,5
Murcia
164,3
La R i o j a
48,2
Extremadura
214,7 646,7
Arag6n
37791
Andaluci a
CataluAa
260,l
Canarias
44,8
Baleares
Figure 2
i n c r e a s e i n i r r i g a t i o n s u r f a c e over the y e a r s . J u s t over a
shows t h e
m i l l i o n h e c t a r e s were under i r r i g a t i o n a t t h e b e g i n n i n g t r a d i t i o n a l zones, a r e a s i n Zaragoza, C a s t e l l 6 n , Murcia
of t h e
, V a l e n c i a , Cranada and
Almeria (many of which are as o l d a s t h e a r a b i c s e t t l e m e n t i n s u p p l i e d by
Esla and
the Castilla,
I m p e r i a l de
o t h e r s m a l l e r works l o c a t e d a t d i f f e r e n t Over t h e
next p a s t
century, i n the
S p a i n ) and o t h e r s
Arag6n c a n a l s ,
p o i n t s along
t h e main
and a h o s t of r i v e r courses.
40 y e a r s , t h e t o t a l s u r f a c e a r e a under i r r i g a t i o n i n c r e a s e d
by t h r e e hundred thousand
h e c t a r e s . Much
of t h i s
l a n d came
under i r r i g a t i o n
under t h e Gasset P l a n , 1902, and i t s l a t e r u p d a t e s . For
decades
before
1930,
the
governments encouraged p r i v a t e development o f
i r r i g a t e d areas by g i v i n g g r a n t s and before the
C i v i l War
broke o u t
special
i n Spain,
credits.
Joaquin C o s t a ' s
r e v i v a l took shape a t t h e same time as i t became could not
be c a r r i e d
o u t by
During
private initiative.
clear that
the
Republic
,
i d e a s f o r economic i r r i g a t i o n schemes
I n 1933 t h e P l a n Nacional de
Obras HidrAulicas was drawn up. I t s o b j e c t i v e was t o b r i n g 1,206,670 h e c t a r e s of
265
land under irrigation and
to
improve irrigation in 271,665 hectares of land
already irrigated.
(ldh 1
/
300 0
2.500
2.000
1.300
1.200 LOW
LO10
1.010
1.9)o
r040
1.mo
1.060
1.070
1.w
Lreo
Figure 2 . - Increase in the total surface area under irrigation.
Because of the precarious economic situation in Spain at the Plan could not be
carried out until the 50's.The overriding need to increase
food production and development made
to make
electricity supplies available
the construction of large dams and
for industrial
canals a priority in the
government's economic policies. The Ministry of Agriculture and Public Works
time, the 1933
the Ministry of
(MOPU) were responsible for carrying out the work established in
the National Plan before handing over the land
to local
farmers and homestea-
ders. Land came under irrigation at a rate of about 30,000ha/yr in the 60's and the first half of
the 70's.
advent of democracy The
,
During the
transition period
in Spain, with the
the rate dropped but picked up again later.
total area under irrigation, then, doubled between 1950 and 1985. The
government was
responsible for bringing 955,000 hectares under irrigation,
approximately two
thirds of
the increase. Private owners were responsible for
the rest by tapping groundwater resources.
266
P r i v a t e owners, however, were n o t t h e o n l y p e o p l e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r ment
groundwater
of
re6ource6.
Ministry
,
development of groundwater r e s o u r c e s
of
Agriculture
i n conjunction with
t h e develop-
programmes f o r t h e t h e IRYDA ( I n s t i t u t e
f o r A g r i c u l t u r a l Reform and Development) were r e s p o n s i b l e f o r i r r i g a t i n g 100,000 of t h e o r i g i n a l f i g u r e of 955,000 h e c t a r e s .
O f f i c i a l figures for the
distribution
of
irrigation
systems
t h e u s e of groundwater s o u r c e 6 are i n c o m p l e t e and
b a s i n s and
t e . Table 1 shows t h e i n f o r m a t i o n o b t a i n e d by t h e a u t h o r d i f f e r e n t Planes
i n hydrgraphic
largely inaccura-
from AVANCE
H i d r o l 6 g i c o s de Cuencas, a s e r i e s of s t u d i e s p u b l i s h e d by IGME
( G e o l o g i c a l and Mining I n s t i t u t e o f S p a i n ) , t h e Geology Department ( P u b l i c Works
8 0 of t h e
of t h e MOPU
P l a n n i n g M i n i s t r y ) , and a number of autonomous communi-
and Land
t i e s (1984 f i g u r e s )
COST OF GROUNDWATER FOR IRRIGATION PURPOSES Detailed analyses
of t h e
i r r i g a t i o n p u r p o s e s have
factors affecting been
the
the cost
subject
of
of groundwater u s e d f o r
numerous
articles
and p a p e r s
p r e s e n t e d by s p e c i a l i s t s (ANDOLZ, 1972; FERNANDEZ; 1977; TARJUELO, 1 9 8 6 ) . Hydrogeological c o n d i t i o n s
at well
sites
-
t h e d e p t h of t h e a q u i f e r , a q u i f e r
y i e l d and i t s randomness, and d e p t h t o water works
or
importance
of
demand
are
all
level factors
e x p l o i t i n g groundwater r e s o u r c e s . T h i s f a c t o r s
can
-
j o i n t l y with
t h e s i z e of
t h a t d e t e r m i n e t h e c o s t of vary
greatly
so
that the
e x t e n t t o which t h e y a f f e c t c o s t s can a l s o v a r y g r e a t l y . Using
1985 p r i c e s ,
variations
in
p u r p o s e s i n t h r e e g e n e r a l t y p e s of 1 9 8 6 ) . Most
groundwater r e s o u r c e s
the
cost
aquifer i n
of
groundwater f o r i r r i g a t i o n
S p a i n were
d e t e r m i n e d (SANCHEZ,
come w i t h i n t h e s e c a t e g o r i e s , which i n c l u d e
most of t h e e x i s t i n g e x p l o i t a t i o n s . See t a b l e 2 . Costs include the amortization of c a p i t a l investment (including
1-2 km of
h i g h t e n s i o n e l e c t r i c w i r e s ) , t h e c o s t o f pumping water a h e i g h t h up t o t h e t o p of t h e w e l l , and t h e c o n s e r v a t i o n and maintenance c o s t s . An i n t e r e s t r a t e
0.16 was
applied i n
the study
l o a n s a t t h e time. C a l c u l a t i o n s
-
the
of i=
p r e v a i l i n g r a t e o f i n t e r e s t f o r mortgage
were r e p e a t e d
u s i n g an i n t e r e s t r a t e o f
267 i = 0.04.
This
rate
of
c o n s i d e r e d t o be a d e q u a t e , a t l e a s t
is
interest
i n p u b l i c works programmes f o r z e r o r a t e i n f l a t i o n s i t u a t i o n s .
Table 2 Cost o f groundwater f o r i r r i g a t i o n purposes.
Well
Elevation
Interest
discharge
m
rate %
Formations
Water c o s t pts/m
$/m2
-
u s Coastal plains and l a r g e a l l ;
50-100
25-50
10-50
0.04
2.5-5.0
0.023-0.045
0.16
6.9- 16 0.063-0.145
0.04
4.5- 10 0.041-0.090
0.16
10
-
30
0.04
7
-
17 0.064-0.155
a c r e a g e i r r i g a t e d by t h e t h r e e t y p e s o f a q u i f e r , and t h e systems o f
i r r i g a t i o n u s e d , t h e c o s t of water p e r h e c t a r e r i n g limestone
Mancha P l a i n ,
1985 depending
the
Duero
p l a i n s and neighbou-
upon t h e
interest rate
/
year
applied. I n
(455 and t h e La
t o 7O,000-120,000 p t s / h e c t a r e (635-1090 $ / h a ) f o r t h e
t h i s rose
h i g h i n t e r e s t r a t e , o r 45,000 of
in coastal
between 50,000 p t s and 35,000 p t s
formations is
320 US $ / y e a r ) , i n
South
0.090-0.272
75-150
i n t h e mesetas
Given t h e
0.033-0.069
50-100
G r a n u l a r sedimen t a r y formations
3.6-7.6
25-50
v i a l formations
Inland limestones
0.16
-
Basin,
150,000 and 90,000 p t s / h a
90,000 p t s / h a (410-820 $ / h a ) f o r t h e lower r a t e .
where
(1360
and
the 820
a q u i f e r is o v e r e x p l o i t e d , w a t e r c o s t s $/ha)
respectively,
depending upon
whether t h e h i g h o r low r a t e of i n t e r e s t i s a p p l i e d . The c o s t of water i n t h e two mesetas i s h i g h , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n view o f t h e c r o p s produced
-
cheap s e a s o n a l c r o p s
cost-efficiency c r i t e r i a whether l a n d s h o u l d be
such
would n o t irrigated or
as
beet,
maize,
alfalfa,
e t c . Indeed,
seem t o be used by f a r m e r s when d e c i d i n g on n o t . There
a r e two
important reasons f o r
268 this: a ) The
M i n i s t r y of
Agriculture encourages farmers t o convert u n i r r i g a t e d
land t o i r r i g a t e d land loans
at
very
low
by g i v i n g
non-returnable subsidies
rates.
interest
i n t e r e s t p a i d has v a r i e d w i t h t h e one time
size
of t h e s e g r a n t s and t h e
agricultural policies
in force
a t any
p r e v a i l i n g economic c o n d i t i o n s . G e n e r a l l y , however, i t
and with
may be s a i d t h a t
The
and long-term
t h e y have l e d t o a r e d u c t i o n i n of between
c a p i t a l investment
t h a t 625,654 h e c t a r e s of private i n i t i a t i v e
l a n d were
with t h e
a l l the irrigation
a third
systems
using
of a m o r t i z i n g
and a h a l f . O f f i c i a l f i g u r e s show i r r i g a t i o n as
p u t under
a i d of
the cost
a r e s u l t of
IRYDA (BOSQUE, 1986), i . e . v i r t u a l l y
groundwater
resources
i n s t a l l e d by
private individuals. b) A s
f a r as
farmers on t h e m e s e t a s are concerned i r r i g a t i n g
many small
t h e i r l a n d means t h e equivalent t o
c o n s o l i d a t i o n of
c r e a t i n g one
the family
s o u r c e of
income, t h e
or two s t a b l e j o b s and t h i s t h e y a r e p r e p a r e d
t o pay f o r .
COST OF SURFACE WATER FOR IRRIGATION PURPOSES. For t h e p u r p o s e s of w a t e r r e s o u r c e management, a r e a s t h a t u s e s u r f a c e w a t e r f o r irrigation f a l l into three categories: 1- Areas
i r r i g a t e d by g o v e r n m e n t - b u i l t p r o j e c t s t h a t r e g u l a t e and c h a n n e l
water t o
these
areas
(
dams,
canals,
pumping
stations,
e t c ) . These
i n s t a l l a t i o n s a r e a l s o m a i n t a i n e d and o p e r a t e d by Water Agencies (Confeder a c i o n e s H i d r o g r k f i c a s ) These a g e n c i e s c o l l e c t money e v e r y y e a r area in
t h e form
of a
tax or
tariff in
return for
from e a c h
water supplied f o r
i r r i g a t i o n . About 1 m i l l i o n h e c t a r e s of l a n d a r e s u b j e c t t o t h i s t a r i f f . 2- Areas where i r r i g a t i o n systems have n o t been by t h e
government b u t
rivers that h a s been
which b e n e f i t
b u i l t nor
a r e maintained
from t h e p r e s e n c e of dams a l o n g t h e
have been b u i l t and p a i d f o r by
t h e government.
S i n c e water
made more r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e i n t h e s e areas, a t a x o r w a t e r canon
(canon de r e g u l a c i h ) i s l e v i e d . T h i s i s p a i d a n n u a l l y and t h e amount p a i d
269
varies a c c o r d i n g t o t h e c o s t of b u i l d i n g and m a i n t a i n i n g t h e dam. I n 1978, a t o t a l of about 700,000 h e c t a r e s
(ALVAREZ e t
a l . , 1981) was s u b j e c t t o
t h i s canon.
3- Other
areas, half
t h e s e two t a x e s s i n c e
a million they
h e c t a r e s , are
cannot
be
not subject
included
in
t o e i t h e r of
either
t h e two
of
categories. Before t h e
Water Law came i n t o e f f e c t , t a r i f f s were l e v i e d on
p r e s e n t Spanish
each a r e a under i r r i g a t i o n . The t o t a l amount
to
be
was
paid
made
up
of by
d i f f e r e n c i a t i n g t h e involved t h r e e terms: a) a
c o n t r i b u t i o n towards
t h e government
t h e a m o r t i z a t i o n of c a p i t a l investment made by
in infrastructures
l e g i s l a t i o n regulating
for irrigation
t h e payment
purposes. According t o
of t a r i f f s t h e u s e r s ' c o n t r i b u t i o n t o
t h e c o s t of a p r o j e c t was c a l c u l a t e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e
terms l a i d
down i n
t h e decree a u t h o r i s i n g t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e works by t h e government. I n general, t h i s
meant t h a t
u s e r s amortized
half the
c a p i t a l employed, a t
c u r r e n t p r i c e s , a t a n i n t e r e s t r a t e of 1.5% p e r annum o v e r
h i s t o r i c a l not
a p e r i o d of 25 y e a r s . b ) D i r e c t c o s t s - t h e s e i n c l u d e t h e c o s t of p e r s o n n e l working
on t h e s i t e ,
s p a r e p a r t s , f u e l , e l e c t r i c i t y f o r pumping, minor r e p a i r s , e t c . . c ) Overheads
-
t h e s e i n c l u d e g e n e r a l and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e expenses i n c u r r e d
by Water Agencies i n a r e a s under i r r i g a t i o n . These basis
of
the
Agency's
annual
are c a l c u l a t e d
on t h e
e x p e n d i t u r e and an e s t a b l i s h e d system of
allocations. The water r e g u l a t i o n canon i s made up of t h e same t h r e e t e r m s , ted
in
a
similar
fashion.
When
an
a r e a under i r r i g a t i o n pays a t a r i f f and
b e n e f i t s from t h e presence of r e s e r v o i r s b u i l t by those s p e c i f i c a l l y
for the
purpose of
and i s c a l c u l a -
t h e government
which are n o t
p r o v i d i n g water for i r r i g a t i o n t o t h a t
a r e a , a second sum i s l e v i e d o v e r and above t h e s p e c i f i c t a r i f f . ( t a b l e 3 ) . The t o t a l s u r f a c e a r e a under i r r i g a t i o n i n each
basin is
divided i n t o i r r i g a -
t i o n zones. D e t a i l s of a l l investments made i n t h e s e zones and t h e d a t e on which investments were made are a v a i l a b l e . Terms b ) and c ) are c a l c u l a t e d on t h e b a s i s
270 of t h e water Agency's a c c o u n t s f o r t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r . Except f o r
the
J u c a r B a s i n , t h e t a r i f f s l e v i e d are n o t r e l a t e d t o t h e amount
o f water f a r m e r s a c t u a l l y u s e .
Table
3
g i v e s d e t a i l s of t h e
t a r i f f s imposed i n
1985 by t h e d i f f e r e n t Water Agencies. TABLE 3 Average t a r i f f s f o r s u r f a c e w a t e r i r r i g a t i o n (1985)
No of
River
Hectares
areas w i t h
basin
i t s own
Max.
Min.
Weigthed
irrigated
tariff
tariff
mean
at the
pts/ha
pts/ha
pts/ha
--
tariff
tariff
NORTE
3
7.000
6.089
657
3.339
DUERO
51
168.851
13.094
1.393
11.883
TAJO
13
95.658
15.795
703
7.208
GUADIANA (1)
10
128.217
18.451
602
5.561
GUADALQUIVIR
22
169.754
18.692
738
5.836
SUR
12
22.564
27.890
183
7.981
7
62.318
6.373
240
869
14
111.850
20.122
600
3.958
8
16.580
7.340
SEGURA (1) ( 2 ) JUCAR ( 1) EBRO
PIRINEO ORIENTAL
626
1.753
(1) I n c l u d e s a l s o a r e a s s u b j e c t o n l y t o water canon.
( 2 ) A.T.S.
( Tajo Segura Aqueduct) t a r i f f s n o t i n c l u d e d .
To c o n v e r t p t s t o US $ d i v i d e by 110.
CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS THE AMORTIZATION OF PUBLIC WORKS When c a l c u l a t i n g t h e u s e r ' s a l r e a d y been
contribution t o
stipulated that,
as a
the cost
of p u b l i c
works i t h a s
g e n e r a l r u l e , u s e r s s h o u l d a m o r t i z e 50% of
t h e c a p i t a l employed,I. The amount due p e r annum i s t h e n c a l c u l a t e d u s i n g t h e f o l l o w i n g formula:
A = 0,5 I
.
. (1,015) 25 (1,01525 - 1) 0,015
271 The government t h u s s u b s i d i z e s 50% o f t h e c a p i t a l
c o s t s which,
w h i l e t h i s may
be j u s t i f i e d i n t h e c a s e o f l a r g e r e s e r v o i r s because of t h e b e n e f i t s t h e y a f f o r d (flood protection, increased a g r i c u l t u r a l it is
n o t so
production, d i l u t i o n
of w a s t e , e t c . )
j u s t i f i a b l e i n t h e c a s e o f main c a n a l s , secondary c a n a l s , s e r v i c e
roads, large-scale repairs, e t c . A s f a r a s t h e 1.5% annual i n t e r e s t r a t e
the July
1911 Law
i s concerned,
this rate
was f i x e d by
and r e p r e s e n t s a b i g c o n c e s s i o n i n monetary t e r m s . According
t o t h e same L a w , u s e r s must s a t i s f y payment between one and f i v e y e a r s a f t e r t h e completion of
For v a r i o u s r e a s o n s i t h a s
t h e works.
ment t h i s c l a u s e . There a r e
still
many
users
been i m p o s s i b l e t o imple-
amortizing
dams
built
i n the
f o r t i e s , f i f t i e s and even e a r l i e r .
r F i g u r e 3.- Annual i n v e s t m e n t s made by t h e M.O.P.U. s o u r c e s works. I f , moreover
, we c o n s i d e r t h a t
i n i r r i g a t i o n and water r e -
I i s t h e t o t a l c o s t o f t h e works c o n s t r u c -
ted, a t h i s t o r i c a l not present prices, the users'contribution
in real
terms i s
272
small. Figure
3 g i v e s an i d e a of t h e importance o f i n f l a t i o n .
Annual i n v e s t m e n t s made
by t h e D i r e c c i 6 n General d e Obras H i d r k u l i c a s i n i r r i g a t i o n schemes
and i n f r a s -
t r u c t u r e f o r w a t e r r e s o u r c e management ( e s s e n t i a l l y l a r g e dams) a r e shown. These do n o t i n c l u d e s p e c i f i c a l l o c a t i o n s i n t h e a n n u a l
budget f o r
flood prevention,
r i v e r embankment works, w a t e r s u p p l y and waste w a t e r t r e a t m e n t works. F i g u r e s show
t h e huge
i n v e s t m e n t made
i n t h e 50's which c o n t i n u e d t h r o u g h o u t
t h e 6 0 ' s b e f o r e dropping o f f a g a i n .
An a t t e m p t has been irrigation
tariffs
made i n and
t h i s study
what
might
t o compare
be
the amortization
term o f
c o n s i d e r e d t o be t h e i r r e a l c o s t . The
f o l l o w i n g c r i t e r i a were u s e d : 1-
The t o t a l c a p i t a l c o s t i s a m o r t i s e d plate
the
existence
of
reasons
s u b s i d i s i n g a p r o j e c t . However reservoir is
that
supplied is
it
an extreme
which d o e s
n o t contem-
of g e n e r a l i n t e r e s t t h a t would j u s t i f y should
be
remembered
that
where a
used f o r producing e l e c t r i c i t y , t h e l i c e n s e e pays an a n n u i t y
which r e d u c e s t h e amount itself
,
-
exploits
u s e r s have the
d e d u c t e d from
If it
t o pay.
electricity, the t a r i f f .
the
is t h e
value
of
This p r a c t i c e
under t h e new l e g i s l a t i o n . I f on t h e o t h e r hand, t h e
Water Agency
the e l e c t r i c i t y
h a s been c o n t i n u e d r e s e r v o i r i s used t o
p r o v i d e w a t e r f o r i n d u s t r y and urban developments t h e s e u s e r s must pay t h e normal w a t e r
canon. I n
m u l t i p l e u s e s t o which b e n e f i t most project 2-
s h o r t , w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n of f l o o d p r e v e n t i o n , t h e reservoirs a r e
put a r e
c o n s i d e r e d and
total c o s t of the
d i r e c t l y from t h e i r p r e s e n c e must pay t h e
.
The c o s t of l i v i n g i n d e x , p u b l i s h e d by t h e I n s t i t u t o Nacional tica
t h o s e who
(National
Statistics
Institute)
is
used
d i f f e r e n t works once t h e d a t e of completion i s
to
revise
known and
de Estadisthe cost of
before calcula-
ting the t a r i f f .
3-
A 4% i n t e r e s t r a t e i s used. T h i s is u s u a l l y c o n s i d e r e d t o be a d e q u a t e f o r p u b l i c investment programmes when i n f l a t i o n is supposedly z e r o .
4-
The p e r i o d f o r a m o r t i z a t i o n i s i n c r e a s e d from 25
t o 50
y e a r s . By s u b s t i -
273 tuting the
p e r i o d of time given t o f i n a n c e c r e d i t s
consonant with t h e working
l i f e of
by t h e p e r i o d of time
of p r o j e c t ,
t h i s kind
t h e amount o f
money p a i d i n one y e a r e f f e c t i v e l y r e p r e s e n t s t h e r e a l c o s t of a m o r t i z i n g t h e p r o j e c t , n o t t h e c o s t of repaying a l o a n . C a l c u l a t i o n s have been made f o r t h e 51 i r r i g a t i o n
t a r i f f s levied
i n t h e Duero
Basin. They have been d i v i d e d i n t o 10 l a r g e groups depending on which r i v e r t h e y a r e s u p p l i e d by. Table aggregated by
4 shows
groups a c c o r d i n g
the revisions to rivers.
made i n
each of
t h e 51 t a r i f f s
was made by weighting
Aggregation
each t a r i f f with i t s corresponding i r r i g a t e d a r e a . The amount of money p a i d p e r y e a r by t h e u s e r s m u s t be o f 10
t o obtain
the fixed
c o s t of a m o r t i z a t i o n
m u l t i p l i e d by
a factor
i n t h e Porma and R i a z a r i v e r s
and 3'7 f o r t h e C a r r i o n River. The mean average f o r t h e whole b a s i n i s 15.6. On t h e bottom l i n e of Table 4 t h e sum t o t a l of t h e
shown.
average r e v i s e d
t a r i f f s are
Annual f i g u r e s f o r d i r e c t and overhead c o s t s as g i v e n by Water Agencies c o s t of
have been a c c e p t e d . Using t h e s e c r i t e r i a , t h e annual
i r r i g a t i o n , which
is f a i r l y uniform, i s about 16.000 p t s / h a (145 US $ / h a ) . T h i s i s a l o t l e s s t h a n t h e c o s t of groundwater
not only
in this
basin
but i n
groundwater works i n
general.
~~
~ ~ c t a r eIrrigated s
Anurrlration 0 1 works
16.498
45.8%
1.318
4.553
18.752
34.663
326
16.952
'39
168.8S1
2.SO
4.40
1.11
10.21
16.00
6.91
4.50
12.13
2.79
6.9
19.2)
21.27
42.80
43.65
46.41
21.67
11.83
60.81
14.61
73.40
29.85
1.33
6.29
7.11
7.06
8.95
6.50
6.60
6.41
13.45
1.54
rota1 carit1
42.56
16.06
54.40
51.83
6S.M
44.25
31.50
71.84
50.26
89.64
44.39
Revised ~ m r l i 2 a r I o n
95.40
93.25
15.60
13.19
108.21
16b.39
121.40
lJ.88
143.91
M.63
109.W
128.16
126.81
125.52
124.M
163.64
194.56
I4S.92
141.26
I82.M
1S1.49
14.1.10
Dlrecl colts O"Wt'*&5
Revised l a r l l t
5.91
28.884
13.45
214
IRRIGATION TARIFFS UNDER THE NEW WATER LAW. The
example
the
of
charged t o the farmers purposes. a)
Duero and
Basin
the
shows t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e t a r i f f s
real
of
cost
surface
water
for i r r i g a t i o n
T h i s i d e a can s t i l l be s t r e s s e d by t h e f o l l o w i n g c o n s i d e r a t i o n s :
the recalculated
are t o be p a i d o v e r a p e r i o d of 5 0
amortization c o s t s
y e a r s , i n s t e a d o f t h e 25 a c t u a l l y a p p l i e d . b)
Intercalary interests, i.e. of p r o j e c t
those t h a t a r e generated
under c o n s t r u c t i o n ,
and up t o t h e y e a r i n which u s e r s begin
t o pay, have n o t been c o n s i d e r e d . I n major
c)
during t h e period
p r o j e c t s both
these periods
of time
are l o n g , as can be s e e n from t h e f a c t t h a t d a t a on i n v e s t m e n t s
include
d a t a on dams begun o v e r f o r t y y e a r s ago.
When e v e r works i s
i s applied,
the t a r i f f
of t h e c o n s t r u c t e d
the amortization
extended t o t h e t o t a l number o f h e c t a r e s w i t h i n t h e i r r i g a t i o n
zone and n o t t o r e a s o n s why
those
development).
funds, Since
actually
only
r a t i o of
irrigated.
a project
difficulty
t a r i f f s , t a r i f f s c a n n o t be i r r i g a t e d . The
are
completion of
the
a v a i l i b i l i t y of
that
those
in
areas
may be d e l a y e d o r impeded (
restructuring that
collected for
are many
There
the
l a n d , urban
a r e under i r r i g a t i o n pay
those areas
hectares theoretically
t h a t can
n o t be
s e r v i c e d by c a n a l s and
t h o s e a c t u a l l y i r r i g a t e d i n t h e Duero b a s i n i s 1 . 3 0 . d)
The amount of money those
legally
c o l l e c t e d from t a r i f f s h a s always been
expected.
c a l c u l a t e d i n terms of t h e differential
deficit
even t h e t o t a l amount ting costs
in
of
Operating expenses inflation
c o l l e c t e d has
the irrigated by u s e r s
jects,
theoretically
should
i n t h e t a r i f f are
included
incurred
the
previous
y e a r . The
i s t h e n c a r r i e d f o r w a r d . Thus, n o t been s u f f i c i e n t
t o s a t i s f y opera-
a r e a s . Water Agencies were a u t h o r i s e d t o
r e t a i n t h e money p a i d which
costs
lower t h a n
towards t h e be
amortization cost
of pro-
r e c e i v e d by t h e T r e a s u r y . Even
s o , t h e Exchequer h a s t o t r a n s f e r e v e r y y e a r money t o
Water Agencies i n
o r d e r t o b a l a n c e t h e i r revenues and e x p e n d i t u r e s . There
would
seem
to
be
sufficient
evidence
to
show t h a t , i n o b j e c t i v e
275
economic terms, it is the government
that in fact affords the
cost of irriga-
tion projects at least as far as the Ministry of Public Works and Land Planning investments are concerned.
Irrigation tariffs do not
take into consideration
investments made by the Ministry of Agriculture. The
situation has
been modified and rationalised under the new Water Law,
which introduces criteria already
implemented in
its by-law
(Reglamento del
Dominio Pdblico Hidrlulico). These
criteria affect all
the most
important points: canons and tariffs
should cover the totality of the government's investment, the period zation is increased to
50 years,
of amorti-
the capital to be amortized is revalued each
year, the interest rate applied is 4% , operating costs are established on the basis of
the
estimated costs
projects. Works undertaken before
for
the
the new
year. These conditions apply to new law
came
into
force
will have
amortization annuities revalued using the appropriate formula. The
effectiveness of
these new measures
will
years. A fore-runner, Law 5 2 / 1980 , regulates the exploitation of
the Tajo
be seen over the next few economic
Segura Aqueduct. This is
transfer of water resources from one basin to another
regime
for the
a huge project f o r the
at a
rate of
30 m3/s.
Water is distributed in the provinces of Murcia, Alicante, and Almeria (Postrasvase). Capital investment made by the Ministry of Public Works and Land Planning up to
1985 has been , at current prices, 44,723 and 26,998 million pesetas (407
and 246 million U.S. $ ) respectively for the two stages of the project. (Trasvase and Postrasvase.) The water
tariffs to be levied f o r the first stage of the project (Trasvase)
are highly complex since a large number
of
items must
be
included in their
calculation, differentiations made between the maximum capacity of the transfer works, the maximum volume transferable at different stages of operation, and the amounts of water actually transferred. The most important aspects are:
-
fixed operating costs per
annum (personnel, conservation, overheads)
are divided by the theoretical demand in areas under irrigation and the unit price is obtained in terms o f pts/m3.
276
-
are c a l c u l a t e d i n terms of 60% of t h e
capital costs
r e v a l u e d e v e r y two y e a r s -
multiplied
by
0.04.
capital invested
This
figure
-
i s then
d i v i d e d by t h e maximum volume t r a n s f e r a b l e t o o b t a i n t h e u n i t v a l u e .
-
an e s t i m a t e d
unit price
is established
for
variable operating costs
(power, purchase of w a t e r ) .
-
annual d e f i c i t s i n o p e r a t i n g c o s t s
are
and
added to
are calculated the
based on
carried
forward
t h e t o t a l amount of c a p i t a l i n v e s t e d by t h e government.
-
the unit
v a l u e of
the f i r s t
two addends
t h e annual volume s t i p u l a t e d i n t h e
contract, not
t h e amount consumed.
V a r i a b l e c o s t s are based on t h e l a t t e r . The r e s u l t
i s similar
t o a s e r v i c e p r o v i d e d by a p u b l i c company t h a t c o v e r s
i t s o p e r a t i n g c o s t s and c o l l e c t s a l e v y for
ment.
A t present,
the base
of t h e
the recovery
levy is
about 35
i n v e s t e d , meaning t h a t water for i r r i g a t i o n i s s u b s i d i z e d .
i s covered
of government i n v e s t -
% of t h e t o t a l c a p i t a l P a r t of t h i s s u b s i d y
t a r i f f charged on t h e w a t e r s u p p l i e d t o m u n i c i p a l i t i e s ,
through t h e
s i n c e i n t h i s c a s e a c o e f f i c i e n t of 0 , 0 8 i s used i n s t e a d of 0 . 0 4 , p l u s and added amount of 2 pts/m 3 . The t a r i f f s a p p l i e d
d u r i n g t h e two y e a r p e r i o d 1985-6 were: Irrigation
Supply
3 wm-
$/m-3
a ) p r o j e c t c o s t recovery
0.013
0.044
b ) fixed operating costs
0.012
0.012
c ) variable operating costs
0.062
0.062
Where a
farmer was
a l l o t t e d 6,000
w i t h t h i s amount of water an amount
l e s s than the
m3/ha and had been i n f a c t been s u p p l i e d
i n 1986, he would have p a i d 57,300 p t s / h a
(521 $/ha)
real c o s t but a l o t higher than o t h e r o f f i c i a l i r r i g a -
tion t a r i f f s i n force.
REFERENCES A l v a r e z , M., Fernbndez, R and A l c a r a z , A . J . , 1981. Cfinones de r e g u l a c i 6 n y M-1.030. t a r i f a s de r i e g o motivadas p o r o b r a s h i d r b u l i c a s .
211
Andolz, J . , 1972. Coste d e l - a g u a s u b t e r r b n e a p a r a a b a s t e c i m i e n t o urbano. Bol. S e r v i c i o Geol6gic0, nu 36, J u n i o . Bosque, J . , 1984. "Del INC a1 IRYDA: A n d l i s i s de 10s r e s u l t a d o s o b t e n i d o s p o r l a p o l i t i c a de Colonizaci6n p o s t e r i o r a l a g u e r r a c i v i l " , A g r i c u l t u r a Sociedad no 32, J u l i o , pp, 153-193. Fernbndez, J . A . . Coste d e l agua Subterrbnea. Colecci6n Informe. I n s t i t u t o Geol6gico y Minero de Espafia, P u b l i c a c i o n e s d e l M i n i s t e r i o de I n d u s t r i a y Energia. MAPA, Anuario de E s t a d i s t i c a A g r a r i a , 1984. Alimentaci6n.
M i n i s t e r i o de
A g r i c u l t u r a , Pesca y
O r t i , A., 1984. " P o l l t i c a h i d r b u l i c a y c u e s t i 6 n S o c i a l " . dad, 32, J u l i o , pp. 7-107.
A g r i c u l t u r a y Socie-
SBnchez,
A., 1986. "Aspectos econ6micos M I N E R A , Diciembre, pp 23-30.
del
agua
subterrAnea".
INDUSTRIA
T a r j u e l o , J.M., 1986. Estirnaci6n d e l c o s t e de a p l i c a c i d n de agua con r i e g o por a s p e r s i 6 n en l a l l a n u r a Norte de l a p r o v i n c i a de A l b a c e t e . Caja de Ahorros de Albace t e .