Constraints to Drought Contingency Planning in Spain: The Hydraulic Paradigm and the Case of Seville

Abstract

Spain is equipped with an extensive hydraulic infrastructure, aimed at the correction of temporal and spatial irregularities in the availability of water resources. This structural network, mainly based on surface water, is the manifestation of the traditional hydraulic paradigm, which has technical, economic, socio‐political and cultural ramifications. The traditional water management perspective tends to view drought as the structural deficit between water demand and water regulation capacity. This conceptualisation of drought led primarily to a structural response, while ignoring the need for drought risk assessment and water crisis management rules. The traditional hydraulic paradigm can, paradoxically, be regarded as one of the main constraints to the development of drought contingency planning and drought management. However, a new dynamism has entered the water policy arena, which encompasses elements of both innovation and persistence of the traditional perception. This dynamism is analysed through the Seville water management system, which is often affected by drought and severe water crises.