Centenary Encounters Held in Vitoria

The Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro (CHE) is holding a new session of the Centenary Encounters in Vitoria-Gasteiz on Thursday, June 18, at 5:30 PM, at Ataria, the Salburua wetlands interpretation center. The activity is part of the CHE’s centenary program and accompanies the traveling exhibition Along the Ebro Basin, installed at Ataria during its stay in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

The session is titled «Past, Present, and Future of Water Management in Álava» and will focus on four specific issues: the Zadorra system, flood risk management, urban water supply, and inter-administrative coordination.

José María Sanz de Galdeano Equiza, Director of Planning and Works at URA, the Basque Water Agency, will present on «The Zadorra System: Evolution, Risk Management, and Institutional Collaboration». His presentation will explain the evolution of the Zadorra system and its role in Álava’s water management, with a special focus on planning, works, and flood prevention.

Ángel Llamazares Álvarez, General Manager of Aguas Municipales de Vitoria-Gasteiz, S.A. (AMVISA) between 2006 and 2024, will participate with the talk «Public Management of Urban Water in Álava: Essential Collaboration Between Institutions. A View from AMVISA (Vitoria-Gasteiz)». His presentation will address the urban water cycle in Vitoria-Gasteiz from AMVISA’s experience: abstraction, supply, sanitation, purification, and relations with other administrations.

The book «Along the Ebro Basin. Centenary of the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro (1926–2026)» brings together a collective perspective on the history, territory, management, heritage, and future challenges of the basin. Its contents engage with the Centenary Encounters series, which brings issues related to water management and the CHE’s relationship with the territory to each exhibition venue.

As a complement to the exhibition and the series of encounters, the book can be consulted in digital format via direct download or purchased online through the following link. Those who need more information on how to find it at their nearest bookstore can write to comunicacion@chebro100.com.

Full information about the event, including date, time, venue, and description, is available in the Centenary agenda: Centenary Encounters: Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Admission is free until capacity is reached.

About the CHE

The Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro (CHE) is an inter-regional river basin authority, attached to the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico. Its functions include the construction and maintenance of infrastructure, such as dams and canals; the maintenance and management of the authority’s assets; hydrological planning; administration of the public water domain; and coordination with sectors linked to its various uses and with public administrations. Its aim is to ensure sustainable management in the Ebro basin, the largest in Spain. Since its creation, it has worked to balance technical management, environmental protection, the public interest and territorial dialogue.

About the Centenary

The Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro (CHE) was founded under the name Confederación Sindical Hidrográfica del Ebro, created on March 5, 1926 and made official the following day in the Gaceta de Madrid. That project, in which engineer Manuel Lorenzo Pardo played a decisive role, introduced in Spain the idea of managing water under the principle of basin unity, overcoming administrative boundaries and committing to comprehensive planning. A century later, its centenary offers an opportunity to revisit those origins and bring the evolution of water management in the Ebro closer to the public. The commemorative programme invites people to discover this legacy and take part in it.