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Diari de Catalunya

Ripollès, a Pioneer in Hydraulic Exploitation and Electric Power

The region, with high rainfall, has developed a rich heritage of water-related infrastructure throughout history.

Image of an old stone aqueduct in a mountainous Catalan landscape, with green vegetation and blue sky.
IA

Image of an old stone aqueduct in a mountainous Catalan landscape, with green vegetation and blue sky.

The Ripollès region, the second with the highest rainfall in Catalonia, has forged an extensive heritage of hydraulic infrastructures, from medieval canals to modern hydroelectric plants, which have shaped its economic and industrial development.

With rainfall placing it as the second rainiest region in Catalonia, only surpassed by Alta Ribagorça, Ripollès has leveraged its geographical conditions and a historical monastic tradition to develop a vast water-related heritage. This includes some sixty hydroelectric plants, with their weirs and canals, in addition to numerous flour mills, many of which are currently in a state of disrepair.
The earliest references to canals in Ripollès date back to the 10th century in Ripoll, with the mention of «aquaductu-um», designating elevated structures for channeling water. This hydraulic infrastructure, built over eleven centuries, has served various functions, from irrigating fields to powering flour, fulling, and paper mills, as well as generating electricity, making the region self-sufficient in this area.
Ripollès played a fundamental and often overlooked role in the industrialization of Catalonia with the introduction of electric power. Between 1901 and 1909, the first two large hydroelectric plants in the region were built, Daió in Queralbs and Brutau in Setcases-Vilallonga de Ter. These allowed for long-distance supply, reaching the plains of Osona and Garrotxa. Furthermore, Ripoll was a pioneer in Spain in public electric lighting, installed in August 1892.
This historical legacy has shaped the identity of Ripollès, facilitating the transition from iron manufacturing to electromechanics. However, this valuable industrial heritage has suffered recent damage, such as the closure of the Séquia Molinar or the disuse of the Pla de la Magdalena canal in Ripoll.
In an effort to recover and manage these infrastructures, the Generalitat de Catalunya has created the company L'Energètica. Since the summer of 2024, this entity has taken over the management of its first hydroelectric plant, Can Trinxet in Sant Quirze de Besora, a measure considered positive given the management of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA).

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