Irrigation network
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The Huerta de Murcia's irrigation network is one of the oldest of Spain and comes from the Muslim era, in which dams and waterwheels were made on the river course. Currently, one of the most important existing is the Contraparada, approximately 4 miles upstream of the city of Murcia.
Water diverted from the river is carried by two main ditches that flow bordering the right bank of the Segura, the right or Acequia Mayor Alquibla (which etymology in Arabic language means "the south"), and left or Acequia Mayor Aljufía (which comes from the Arabic "the north").
In lands above the ditches, the water is raised through wheels, an hydraulic device moved by impulse of the water flow that elevate it in its buckets to higher lands.
Along the Huerta de Murcia there are lots of water canals that have different names depending on the flow of living waters coming from the major irrigation ditches or dead waters, drainage or runoff waters. So, there are:
Ordinances
editThe Huerta de Murcia's ordinances have a long of history. They are, probably, based on the traditions initiated and followed by the Muslim population that created the irrigation system. From this, there are a number of documents that collect the current regulations along eras. The first Ordinances written are dated on the XIV century. Subsequently, the ones of 1594, 1695 and 1702 were compiled; these were the ones that were applied during an extended time period. All the ordenances until the XVIII century are not ordinated in every Compilation, but they only collect the regulations that emerged until the moment of being compiled.
After the collapse of the old regime, the form of the Ordinances changed, being established an order for materials and a division in chapters composed by a set of articles. The current Ordinances are dated in 1849, and they are based on a previous attempt, the Project of 1821, that apparently did not come into effect due to the political problems of the moment. However, the current version of the Ordinances corresponds to the modifications of 1991-1992, for adapt it to the Water Law.
Inside the content of the current Ordinances we can highlight the norms regarding to the description of the Huerta (Ch. I) and its channels (Ch. II), to the regular cleaning operations (Ch. III), the distributions or collections to achievement of certain objectives of general interest (Ch. VI), the distribution and use of the waters (Ch. VIII), and the institutional part. This one describes what are the solicitors or representatives of the inheritance (Ch. V), the juntments or assemblies (Ch. VII), the Hacendados Representative Commission as an executive body (Ch. X), and the Good Men's Council, which is the body that resolves differences relating to the Ordinances (Ch. XI).