Water distribution
The Mediterranean climate is characterised by hot, dry summers, low temperatures, altitude and steep slopes, the abundance of non-soluble soil materials such as slates, factors which distinguish the Sierra Nevada and Sierra de Los Filabres areas of Almería, and which do not favour the natural penetration of water into the subsoil for its use.
These factors mean that water from melting snow and rainfall flows into the sea in a short space of time. The Muslim settlers, who traditionally practised irrigated agriculture, developed a simple but effective technology for water management. It is essentially a hydraulic distribution and infiltration network, the main functions of which are to retain water for use and to carry the flow to as much of the agricultural area as possible.
The formidable work of canalisation introduced by the Arab culture allowed the settlement and self-sufficiency of thousands of people. Today, not only the engineering work devised by the Muslim people remains in use, but also the system of water management, where the ownership of land and its proportional water are intimately linked.
The rules of water distribution were based from the beginning on customary law, which was passed down orally from generation to generation. Over time, these customary practices were embodied in written ordinances and the landowners were grouped into communities, called nowadays Comunidades de Regantes (Irrigators’ communities).
The Municipal Ordinance Book of Abrucena, which dates back to the 16th century, contains not only the rules governing the irrigation system, but also the figure of the Repartidor (water distributor), the person in charge of managing the proper and correct use of the hours of water.
The irrigation community in this area groups together the towns of Abla and Abrucena, which receive surplus water from the Barranco de Sierra Nevada.
The water is distributed to both localities by means of a pond (about 5 metres in diameter and with an outlet system consisting of three windows) located to the north of the municipality of Abrucena, with Abrucena receiving two parts and Abla one part of the stored water. By means of “mother” ditches the water is distributed to the different settlements, while the regueros (crop streams) distribute it to each plot.
Historical Notes
According to historical sources, in the middle of the 13th century the villagers bought the water from the Sultan of Granada; in 1356 the distribution between the farmsteads of Abla and Abrucena was recorded in writing, with the former receiving 1/3 of the water and the latter 2/3. However, in 1527 there was a harsh confrontation between the two towns over the use of the water: the people of Abrucena refused to give the water to the people of Abla, arguing, among other reasons, that the third of the river only corresponded to them during the months of March, April and May. During the lawsuit held before the mayor of Guadix, the witnesses highlighted the secular problems due to the use of water. This is how it was reflected: “on a day of this month of May and as present came the opposing parties with great shouting and uproar from the place of Abla armed, some with stones and others with hoes and others with sticks and others with axes, and saying: die, die those of Abrucena…!” (Espinar Moreno, 1989: 247-266).
So the figure of the repartidor (water distributor) is the person in charge of the correct distribution of water hours and other tasks that require intense dedication. Water is distributed on a daily or weekly basis, depending on the number of irrigators and settlements in each locality. The distributor makes a daily list of the irrigators in each turn, to whom he assigns the date and time of irrigation. Once the distribution of water from one turn is finished, the distributor starts the next one. Once the irrigation hours have been distributed, the distributor goes to the so-called “Balsa Grande” (Great Pond), located in the spot Paraje El Cercado, where a system of manual sluice gates is used to release the water to start the irrigation period. In addition to the tasks of the distributor, the cleaning of the pond is also carried out. The cleaning of the streams that reach the farms is a task that must be carried out by the landowners.

Apertura de balsa de riego. Photo: Elena Ramírez Guerra. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico
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Apertura balsa grande. Photo: Elena Ramírez Guerra. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico
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Limpieza de regueros. Photo: Elena Ramírez Guerra. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico
IAPH image under the conditions established under license cc-by 3.0 de Creative Common. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/

Reparto del agua. Photo: Elena Ramírez Guerra. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico
IAPH image under the conditions established under license cc-by 3.0 de Creative Common. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/