Water, Weather & Environment
Smart irrigation monitoring in Spain.
Turning 2,500 hectares of irrigation into a data-driven water management system.
How Comunidad de Regantes del Canal Alto de Villares is using monitoring, satellite data and decision support to optimise irrigation.
Quick facts
- Location: Spain
- Area: 2,500 hectares
- Soil moisture stations: 69
- Rain gauges: 5
- Potential water savings: up to 25%
- The challenge.
- The solution.
- The results.
The challenge.
The challenge.
Following a major infrastructure modernisation, the irrigation community faced a new challenge: how to ensure water was applied efficiently across a large and complex network.
Despite advanced pumping and distribution systems, irrigation decisions remained largely based on experience rather than real-time data.
This created risks including over-irrigation, higher energy use and reduced crop performance.
The solution.
The solution.
The project integrates field monitoring, satellite intelligence and digital systems into a unified irrigation decision platform, enabling real-time irrigation decisions.
Monitoring network
- 69 soil moisture monitoring stations
- Rainfall and meteorological monitoring
- Water quality tracking
Data and intelligence
- Decision Support System (DSS)
- Satellite crop monitoring (Copernicus)
- Drone validation and soil analysis
Advanced capabilities
- BIM model for infrastructure management
- AKIS framework for knowledge sharing
The results.
The results.
- Up to 25% potential water savings
- Improved irrigation planning
- Reduced energy consumption
- Better crop monitoring and yield optimisation
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“Irrigation has always relied on experience. But experience alone is no longer enough.”
Juan Jose Benavente