Supply, installation, and commissioning of integrated compact hydrometric stations at the flow measurement stations of Barbadillo del Pez (Burgos), Otero de Guardo (Palencia), and Tardesillas (Soria)
The International Hydrographic District of the Duero is the largest in the Iberian Peninsula, covering 98,073 km2. It encompasses the territory of the Duero river basin as well as the transitional waters of the Porto Estuary and the associated Atlantic coastal waters. The territory is shared between Portugal (20% of the total area) and Spain (80%). The Spanish part of the Duero district covers 78,859 km2.
The Spanish part of the Duero district borders the Miño-Sil district to the northwest, the Cantabrian district to the north, the Ebro district to the northeast and east, and the Tajo district to the south. To the west, the basin continues into Portugal. In Spain, the basin extends across the autonomous communities of Castilla y León, Galicia, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, La Rioja, Madrid, and Asturias.
Within this vast territory, a drainage network extends for approximately 83,200 km, of which 13,491 km have been identified as bodies of water. Most of the rivers in the basin originate in the surrounding mountain ranges and flow into the main axis of the Duero, which divides the basin for 744 km (in Spain). This creates a distinction between the right or northern bank with two major tributary subnetworks: the Pisuerga, which includes the Carrión and the Arlanza with the Arlanzón, and the Esla, which fans out to include rivers such as the Tera, Órbigo, Porma, and Cea. The left or southern bank includes smaller rivers that descend from the Sistema Central to the Duero, such as the Riaza, Duratón, Cega, Adaja with Eresma, and other minor ones (Zapardiel, Trabancos, Guareña…). Finally, the international stretch directly contributes its waters to the Tormes, Huebra, and Águeda systems.
The Hydrographic Confederation of the Duero is responsible for the control of both surface (rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs) and groundwater quantity and quality.
The Integrated Network S.A.I.H.-R.O.E.A. is in charge of the continuous and automatic monitoring of surface water quantity. It consists of 158 flow gauging stations in river channels, 174 rain gauges, 38 control points in reservoirs, and 48 control points in canals.
The 158 flow gauging stations are distributed across 58 river channels in the basin, with 16 stations along the Duero, 9 along the Pisuerga, 8 along the Tormes, 7 along the Esla, and 6 along the Carrión, Eresma, Luna-Órbigo, and Arlanzón rivers, among others.
The flow data provided by the Integrated Network S.A.I.H.-R.O.E.A. serves two fundamental objectives: – Registering flow rates in the river channels of the basin to improve water resource management, which is particularly relevant in hydrological planning. – Providing information to the competent authorities in situations of flood risk and inundations, so that they can make decisions deemed appropriate to minimize the risk and, if necessary, restore normal conditions. Given the description of the Duero basin and its territorial and hydrological characteristics, the Hydrographic District has decided to trust ARANTEC to expand its integrated network for channel monitoring at three significant points along the Pedroso, Besande, and Tera rivers.
The first control point, called Barbadillo del Pez due to its location in this town in the province of Burgos, is located on the Pedroso River, a tributary on the right bank of the Arlanza River, which, as mentioned earlier, belongs to the Pisuerga River basin, itself a tributary on the right bank of the Duero River. The second control point, called Otero de Guardo, is located in the town of Velilla del Río Carrión on the bridge over the Besandino River, a tributary on the right bank of the Carrión River, also belonging to the Pisuerga River basin.
The third control point, called Tardesillas, is located in the town of Tardesillas on the bridge over the Tera River, a tributary on the right bank of the Duero River.
At all locations, a radar river level sensor of up to 15 m in height has been installed, as well as ambient temperature and relative humidity sensors. These sensors are powered by photovoltaic panels and communicate through GPRS with the Basin Control Center of the Douro Hydrographic District located in Valladolid. Arantec has installed these control points in just a few days and has integrated them, despite having its own data management and alarm platform, within the interface of the Douro Hydrographic District managed by the WISKI software. This confirms the great speed and flexibility of the equipment, allowing it to be integrated into important administrations such as the Douro Hydrographic Confederation.
