The hydraulic heart of the market gardens
The Water Tribunal of the Vega de Valencia cannot be understood without the irrigation-channel network that supplies Valencia’s market gardens.
Inherited from the Andalusi period and refined over centuries, this water-management system is a true masterpiece of traditional engineering and social organisation.
The channels are more than irrigation infrastructure: they are lifelines connecting the River Turia with fields, communities and the people who cultivate them.
Each irrigation community manages its channel autonomously, but all share the same principle: fair and shared use of water.
The irrigation channels and the Tribunal
The Water Tribunal comprises nine trustees, each representing one of the Vega’s principal irrigation channels. They speak for their communities and ensure that irrigation rules are observed.
Each trustee defends the rights of the water users in their community when a dispute arises, always through respect, dialogue and fairness.
The following are the irrigation channels represented on the Tribunal:
Quart
First in the speaking order, it begins at the highest weir on the Turia and irrigates land in Quart de Poblet, Aldaia and part of Mislata.
Benàger and Faitanar
Two historic channels that share a trustee. They irrigate the areas of Picanya, Paiporta and Torrent.
Tormos
One of the longest channels, it crosses Burjassot, Benimàmet, Paterna and Alboraia and waters the northern market gardens.
Mislata
Short and efficient, it traditionally supplied fields close to the city.
Chirivella
It irrigates the land of Xirivella and parts of Aldaia and Mislata.
Mestalla
It crosses central Valencia and gave its name to the well-known neighbourhood and stadium.
Favara
Its name comes from the Arabic fawwāra, meaning ‘gushing spring’. It irrigated the south of the city towards Russafa and Natzaret.
Rascanya
With a large area and many water users, it supplies the northern and eastern market gardens.
Rovella
The southernmost channel carried water towards Cabanyal and the former course of the Turia.
A thousand-year-old legacy
The irrigation system of the Vega de Valencia has more than a millennium of history.
Each drop is distributed according to an established order accepted by all, an example of sustainable and community water management.
By resolving disputes between water users, the Tribunal ensures that the system operates fairly and in balance. Without the channels, the Tribunal would have no purpose; without the Tribunal, the channels would not have endured for so long.
Water, culture and future
Irrigation channels are far more than canals: they are living traces of Valencian history. Preserving them and sharing their value means supporting a model of sustainability, cooperation and respect for the environment.
The Water Tribunal and its channels remind us that water belongs to no one person, but to everyone who cares for it and shares it.
For more information about the irrigation channels represented on the Water Tribunal, download the infographic:
Infographic: Irrigation Channels of the Water Tribunal (Spanish) Infographic: The irrigation channels of the Water Tribunal (Spanish version)
Infographic: Irrigation Channels of the Water Tribunal (Valencian) Infographic: The irrigation channels of the Water Tribunal (Valencian version)
The photographs used in this infographic were obtained from the official website of the Water Tribunal of the Vega de Valencia.