Mino-Sil

Mino-Sil Basin District

Where is it located?

The international hydrographic basin of the Mino and Limia rivers covers an area of 19,593.05 km², with the area of the Spanish part being 17,581.98 km2. It includes the territory of the basins of the Miño-Sil and Limia rivers. It is a territory shared between Portugal (10.26% of the territory) and Spain (89.74%).

The scope of action of the Mino-Sil Basin District is located in the north of Galicia and Portugal and also crosses the territory of Leon, including surface continental waters, groundwater included in the territorial scope, the part of the coast associated with it (A Guarda), and the transitional waters between the marine and continental environments (Miño Estuary).

The Limia River rises in Spain, in Monte Talariño, Sarreaus, at an altitude of about 975 metres. It is 139.49 km long, of which 72.49 km run entirely through Spain and the last 67 km through Portugal, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean at Viana do Castelo. The surface of the Limia hydrographic basin is 2,521.18 km2, with 1,322.08 km2 (52.43%) in Spanish territory and 1,199.10 km2 (47.55%) in Portuguese territory.

The particularity of this river basin district is its low population density, which reaches 47 inhabitants/km2 (with the Spanish average being 93 inhabitants/km2) and, despite this, most of the territory is inhabited, reaching a total of 12,065 population centers, with a unique population dispersion in Europe.

The population is concentrated mainly in the two metropolitan areas of the provincial capitals (Lugo and Ourense), together with the municipalities closest to the coast such as Tomiño, O Porriño, Tui or Mos, as well as the main population center in the Bierzo (Leon): Ponferrada. In total, more than 800,000 people reside in the Miño-Sil Basin District according to INE 2013 data.

In total, this hydrographic demarcation houses two provincial capitals in Galicia, such as Lugo and Ourense, and includes 228 municipalities, of which 124 of them are entirely in the demarcation. In the province of León, the most important population center is Ponferrada.

The Minho and Limia Hydrographic Region – RH1 has a total area in Portuguese territory of 2,464 km2, integrating the hydrographic basins of the Mino and Limia rivers and the hydrographic basins of the coastlines, including the respective groundwater and adjacent coastal waters. The tributaries of the Miño in Portugal are the Trancoso, Mouro, Gadanha and Coura.

RH1 encompasses 15 municipalities, of which 10 are completely covered by this RH and 5 are partially covered. The fully covered municipalities are the following: Arcos de Valdevez, Caminha, Melgaço, Monção, Paredes de Coura, Ponte de Lima, Ponte da Barca, Valença, Viana do Castelo and Vila Nova de Cerveira. The partially covered municipalities are Barcelos, Esposende, Terras de Bouro, Vila Verde and Montalegre. The most important urban centers correspond to the headwaters located in the hydrographic region, highlighting Viana do Castelo, district headquarters.

2022-2027 Hydrological Plan

The hydrological plan for the Spanish part of the Miño-Sil Basin District currently in force was approved by Real Decreto 1/2016, January 8, approving the revision of the Hydrological Plans for the basins districts of Guadalquivir, Ceuta, Melilla, Segura, Júcar and Western Cantabrian, and for the Spanish part of the basins districts of Miño-Sil, Duero, Tajo, Guadiana, Ebro and Eastern Cantabrian Sea, in compliance with article 83 of Royal Decree 907/2007, of July 6, which approves the Hydrological Planning Regulations.

On December 22, 2021, the public consultation period for the Draft Hydrological Plan Project for the Spanish part of the Miño-Sil Hydrographic Demarcation for the period 2022-2027 ended. After that period, the proposals, observations and suggestions that, where appropriate, are considered appropriate will be incorporated into the hydrological plan project proposal, which will require the mandatory report of the Water Council of the demarcation. Said hydrological plan project proposal, with the agreement of the Committee of Competent Authorities on the program of measures in its corresponding sphere of competence, will be submitted to the Government through the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, for its approval. The approval of this new review will lead to the repeal of the second cycle Hydrological Plan, approved by Royal Decree 1/2016, of January 8. Once this review has been formalized, it will be notified to the European Commission, a milestone that must occur no later than March 22, 2022.

In Portugal, currently, the Management Plan of the Miño-Limia Basin District in force was approved by Ministry Council Resolution, n.º 52/2016, September 20, corrected by Declaration of Rectification No. 22-B/2016, of November 18, through which the Management Plans of the Hydrographic Region of Continental Portugal for the period 2016-2021 are approved.

Currently, work is being done on the revision of the aforementioned Plan for the period 2022-2027. During the first half of 2021, the projects of the Management Plans of the Hydrographic Regions were submitted to public consultation for a period of six months. The final versions of these plans will be published with a deadline of December 22, 2021.

What are the shared water bodies under study?

Rivers and reservoirs

SPAIN Code

ES010MSPFES503MAT000250

ES010MSPFES501MAT000240

ES010MSPFES494MAR002260

ES010MSPFES491MAR002140

ES010MSPFES513MAR002490

ES010MSPFES511MAR002470

ES010MSPFES512MAR002430

PORTUGAL Code

PT01MIN0016I

PT01MIN0014l

PT01MIN0006I

PT01MIN0001l

PT01LIM0024l

PT01LIM0028

PT01LIM0060

ES / PT Name

Río Miño X  / Rio Minho

Río Miño IX  / Rio Minho

Río Miño VIII  / Rio Minho (HMWB – Jusante B. Frieira)

Río Trancoso  / Rio Trancoso

Río Laboreiro  / Rio Castro Laboreiro

Embalse de Lindoso  / Albufeira do Alto Lindoso

Embalse de Salas  / Albufeira de Salas

ES / PT Category

Río / Rio

Río / Rio

Río / Rio

Río / Rio

Río / Rio

Río / Rio (Albufeira)

Río / Rio (Albufeira)

ES / PT Nature

Natural / Natural

Natural / Natural

Muy modificada / Fortemente modificada

Natural / Natural

Natural / Natural

Muy modificada / Fortemente modificada

Muy modificada / Fortemente modificada

Transitional Waters

SPAIN Code

ES010MSPFES505MAT000270

ES010MSPFES503MAT000260

PORTUGAL Code

PT01MIN0023

PT01MIN0018

ES / PT Name

Estuario del Miño_tramo1  / Minho-WB1

Estuario del Miño_tramo2  / Minho-WB2

ES / PT Category

Transición / Transição

Transición / Transição

ES / PT Nature

Natural / Natural

Natural / Natural

A way to make Europe

Co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
through the Interreg VA Spain-Portugal Programme (POCTEP) 2014-2020