Water in the Pyrénees

Despite appearing dry and arid, the department of the Pyrenées Orientales has always known how to use water resources to the best effect. The importance of water left its mark throughout the ages on local heritage : syphons, acqueducts, water mills, wash-houses, forged iron sluice gates, and locks contributed to agricultural development and helped with the preservation and respect of the environment. Since the 9th century, men have built irrigation channels in the department. The first ones were a result of Moorish “savoir-faire”. They used them to operate their water mills. In the Middle Ages feudal Lords and religious communities built irrigation channels to work their water mills and forges, but with the disappearance of the Lords, the tenant farmers obtained the rights to use the channels to irrigate their arable land, grasslands, and gardens. This was the beginning of agricultural irrigation, firmly fixing the idea of sharing water.