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
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
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
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.