Food for the Future

Spain - Alpujarras - CÁÑAR, a mountain village in the Alpujarra of Granada, is restoring its acequias, a network of water channels created by the Moors in the Middle Ages, over 1,000 years ago..
Without acequias, snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada peaks would flow directly into rivers and lakes that run dry during summer months. Already, many of Spain’s reservoirs are at a critical level, because of the continuing drought, and some parts of Malaga are seeing water...
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Spain - Alpujarras - CÁÑAR, a mountain village in the Alpujarra of Granada, is restoring its acequias, a network of water channels created by the Moors in the Middle Ages, over 1,000 years ago..
Without acequias, snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada peaks would flow directly into rivers and lakes that run dry during summer months. Already, many of Spain’s reservoirs are at a critical level, because of the continuing drought, and some parts of Malaga are seeing water restrictions.

Thanks to acequias, the snowmelt is diverted through the ancient channels, winding through the mountains, and irrigating the terraced slopes. Acequias enable farmers to grow crops in what would otherwise be impossible terrain. After the water is diverted from acequias and is absorbed into the ground, it eventually joins the underground aquifers and emerges through springs, downslope, a few months later.
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