• The project is also progressing in the development of a joint special drought plan, which is collecting key data and using weather forecasts to create protocols for diagnosing and managing scenarios of prolonged drought and short-term shortages.

A European project, called Poctep Risc Plus, is promoting actions that will increase the number of monitoring points in the Miño, Sil and Limia river basins.

According to the Miño-Sil Hydrographic Confederation (CHMS) in a press release, the automatic hydrological information system (SAIH) currently has 116 control points in the Miño-Sil demarcation, which will increase to 124 at the end of the project.

Likewise, the automatic water quality information system (Saica), which has 18 stations, will be increased to a total of 20 once these works are completed.

This initiative is focused on strengthening the resilience of the Miño and Limia cross-border basins in the face of climate change, with an improvement of automatic hydrological and water quality information systems, analysis of droughts and flood and flood forecasting.

To date, work has been completed, and the stations located on the river Narla in Friol, the river Quiroga in Quiroga and the river Tamuxe in Rosal are operational. In addition, two more stations are in an advanced state of execution, with the civil works practically completed, located on the river Sil, in Toreno, as well as on the river Lobios, in Lobios.

For their part, the Portuguese partners are carrying out administrative work to complete the monitoring network in their territory, ensuring a coordinated and cross-border approach.

‘It is important to remember that through the SAIH stations information is obtained from our channels, in real time, based on the capture, transmission and processing of the values adopted by the most significant hydrometeorological and hydraulic variables; the sensors of these control points are placed in very specific and studied geographical locations in order to obtain accurate data that help in decision-making’, explained the president of the CHMS, José Antonio Quiroga.

The project is also making progress in the development of a special joint drought plan, which is compiling key data and using weather forecasts to create protocols for diagnosing and managing scenarios of prolonged drought and cyclical shortages.

Risc Plus began in July 2023 and is scheduled for completion in June 2026, with a budget of 1.6 million euros, of which more than 50% has been executed to date.