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<p>Water resources of the Tagus River, the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula, are under increasing pressure. One of the main sources of pressure is the Tagus-Segura Water Transfer (TSWT), which has operated since the early 1980s and withdraws water from a reservoir system in the Tagus headwaters to meet southeastern Spain’s demands. Since its commissioning, the TSWT has significantly altered the river’s natural flow regime, a process further intensified by recent climate changes. This study analyses the evolution of climate and water availability in the Tagus headwaters, the transferred volumes, the streamflow patterns downstream of the reservoir system and the associated impacts on water quality. The results show that sustained increases in temperature and reductions in precipitation since the 1980s have led to a marked 48% decline in reservoir inflows. Combined with an average annual transfer of 332 hm³, these changes have resulted in a 76% reduction in streamflow in the middle reaches of the Tagus River, representing a severe disruption of its natural hydrological regime. This hydrological alteration has had direct consequences on water quality downstream of the headwaters. The exiguous flows in the Tagus River cannot dilute the pollutants from the tributaries flowing through the Madrid metropolitan area, contributing to a diminished ecological potential and reduced self-purification capacity of the river system.</p>

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Disentangling the hydrological implications of the climate 80s effect and water transfers in a large Mediterranean river

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月7日

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  • José Manuel Rodríguez-Castellanos,
  • Silvia Martínez-Pérez,
  • Alejandro Sánchez-Gómez,
  • Eugenio Molina-Navarro

摘要

Water resources of the Tagus River, the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula, are under increasing pressure. One of the main sources of pressure is the Tagus-Segura Water Transfer (TSWT), which has operated since the early 1980s and withdraws water from a reservoir system in the Tagus headwaters to meet southeastern Spain’s demands. Since its commissioning, the TSWT has significantly altered the river’s natural flow regime, a process further intensified by recent climate changes. This study analyses the evolution of climate and water availability in the Tagus headwaters, the transferred volumes, the streamflow patterns downstream of the reservoir system and the associated impacts on water quality. The results show that sustained increases in temperature and reductions in precipitation since the 1980s have led to a marked 48% decline in reservoir inflows. Combined with an average annual transfer of 332 hm³, these changes have resulted in a 76% reduction in streamflow in the middle reaches of the Tagus River, representing a severe disruption of its natural hydrological regime. This hydrological alteration has had direct consequences on water quality downstream of the headwaters. The exiguous flows in the Tagus River cannot dilute the pollutants from the tributaries flowing through the Madrid metropolitan area, contributing to a diminished ecological potential and reduced self-purification capacity of the river system.