The final activity of the implementation of the AIMRD action plan, in the framework of the BIGDATA 4RIVERS project, took place at Lock 42 of the South Branch of the Canal de Castilla (Valladolid) on 12 July.
Representatives of the Portuguese Environment Agency, the Duero Hydrographic Confederation, the Regional Government of Castilla y León, as well as members of the municipalities bordering the Duero-Douro river participated in this final meeting.
The session highlighted the need to reinforce the presence of local councils in participatory bodies related to water management.
In this context, cooperation between public administrations remains a pending challenge, with eight out of ten respondents describing these relations as basic or limited.
Among other issues, participants discussed the three key concerns regarding water management: the lack of wastewater treatment infrastructures, the renewal of infrastructure networks and the imbalance between legal competences and available resources.
Moreover, participants agreed that the particularities of small municipalities (less than 1000 inhabitants) make it advisable to define specific programmes and measures to deal with their competences in the field of water.
