Puntos de Interés
Hydrography
Canal del Duero
The Canal del Duero is a water supply canal located in the Castilian province of Valladolid.
The river has a length of 52 km and collects its waters from the River Duero at the height of the Valladolid town of Quintanilla de Onésimo. It subsequently flows into the River Pisuerga between the towns of Santovenia and Cabezón.
Prior to the construction of this hydraulic infrastructure, the waters of the Canal de Castilla were used to supply water to the province of Valladolid. The 19th century saw a period of significant demographic growth and industrialisation, accompanied by concerns about the quality of water in the provincial capital. This led to the decision to build a second canal to supply the city and surrounding agricultural land.
The genesis of this project can be traced back to the 15th century, but it was not until the mid-19th century that the first sketches were produced. The initial proposals for the canal included the construction of a waterway that would utilise the Duero river to supply irrigation to fields between Cabezón and Herrera de Duero, as well as to provide drinking water to the city of Valladolid.
The initial project was assigned to León García Alejo, who was granted a Royal Order in 1862 authorising the construction of the "Valladolid Canal" project. In 1864, the company was transferred to the Sociedad de Crédito "Unión Castellana", which was established in January of the same year.
The canal was designed to divert the River Duero's waters, at the height of the uninhabited village of Peñalba de Duero, for 22.49 km until it reached the vicinity of the city of Valladolid. In this area, the riverbed would be divided into two irrigation channels until it flows into the River Pisuerga.
However, this project, like the one carried out in 1876 by "Unión Castellana", was never realised due to the low economic profitability of the project.
Subsequently, in 1879, negotiations were initiated with the Marquis of Salamanca, who saw potential for profitability in the project and ultimately obtained the concession, founding the "Sociedad Canal del Duero".
A new project was then proposed, with Mariano Cárcer Salamanca assuming responsibility for its execution.
The proposal for this project was to extend the canal to a length of 52 km, with the Duero River waters collected in Quintanilla de Onésimo instead of Peñalba. The municipality's old but well-preserved dam was used for this purpose, and a 500 m tunnel was constructed underground to ensure the hamlet's continued integrity.
The project was approved in 1880, with work commencing in November of the same year. The canal was finally inaugurated in 1886 and was later completed in the 20th century with a subsidiary network of irrigation ditches. It is still fully operational.