The Guadiana expropriates land for the emergency plans of five dams

The Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation (CHG) has opened the public information process regarding the assets and rights affected by the expropriations necessary to implement the emergency plans for five dams: Cancho del Fresno, Ruecas, Cubilar, Gargáligas, and Sierra Brava. The announcement, signed by the head of the organization, Samuel Moraleda Ludeña, was published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Cáceres on October 9, 2026, with official reference BOP-2026-4766. Interested parties have twenty business days from the date of publication to submit written claims.

The five infrastructures are classified as Category A based on the potential risk derived from their failure or incorrect operation, which mandates the approval and implementation of their Dam Emergency Plans (PEP). The plans were drafted in December 2003 by the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation as the owner of the dams: the plan for Cancho del Fresno was approved in July 2005 by the General Directorate of Water, that of Gargáligas in January 2008, and those of Ruecas, Cubilar, and Sierra Brava in March 2008.

The regulatory framework stems from the Basic Planning Guideline for Civil Protection against Flood Risk, approved by the Council of Ministers on December 9, 1994, and the Technical Regulation on the Safety of Dams and Reservoirs of 1996, now repealed by Royal Decree 264/2021, of April 13, which approves the Technical Safety Standards for dams and their reservoirs. The implementation of the PEPs in the Guadiana district is listed in Annex 11 of the Report of the Guadiana Hydrological Plan, approved by Royal Decree 35/2023, of January 24. The General Directorate of Water authorized the CHG to initiate the proceedings on September 14 and 17, 2026, following the organization’s request on August 18.

Five dams, five proceedings

• Cancho del Fresno (Cáceres), proceeding 04.118.027/2111: base tender budget of 656,585.19 euros and estimated expropriation cost of 1,944.60 euros.
• Ruecas (Cáceres and Badajoz), proceeding 04.118.028/2111: 413,286.12 euros for tender and 1,403.93 euros for expropriations.
• Cubilar (Cáceres), proceeding 04.199.058/2111: 329,301.55 euros and 1,128.01 euros.
• Gargáligas (Cáceres and Badajoz), proceeding 04.199.059/2111: 300,022.89 euros and 1,764.97 euros.
• Sierra Brava (Cáceres and Badajoz), proceeding 04.199.060/2111: 757,854.22 euros and 2,983.99 euros.

Together, the five projects total 2,457,049.97 euros in base tender budget and 9,225.50 euros in estimated expropriation costs. All actions are classified as infrastructure security.

Affected municipalities and owners

The announcement’s annex details 62 estates, mostly of rural status, distributed among eight municipalities of Cáceres and Badajoz:

• Cancho del Fresno: municipality of Cañamero.
• Ruecas: Logrosán and Navalvillar de Pela.
• Cubilar: Logrosán.
• Gargáligas: Puebla de Alcocer, Logrosán and Navalvillar de Pela.
• Sierra Brava: Zorita, Madrigalejo, Alcollarín, Navalvillar de Pela and Campo Lugar.

Among the cadastral holders are administrations and companies such as the Junta de Extremadura, the City Council of Cañamero, the City Council of Logrosán, the City Council of Madrigalejo, ADIF, the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation itself, Casa de Hitos, SL, Garciva, SL and the Canal de las Dehesas Irrigation Community, along with numerous private owners. The impacts are divided between full ownership surface, temporary occupation, and easements, with amounts that in several cases do not reach ten square meters.

Allegations and project consultation

• Deadline: twenty (20) business days from the publication of the summary note in the Official Gazette of the Province of Cáceres.
• Submission: in writing to the technical director of the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation, at Avenida Sinforiano Madroñero 12, Badajoz.
• In-person consultation: at the Confederation’s offices in Badajoz, during public office hours, within the same period.
• Electronic consultation: the project is available for download via the links published in the announcement for each of the five dams.

The announcement is issued under Article 83 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on Common Administrative Procedure, and Article 18 of the Compulsory Expropriation Law of December 16, 1954. The resolution is signed by delegation of the Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, in accordance with Order TED/544/2026, of May 28.

The implementation of these plans involves putting into service a new Emergency Management Center, communication systems with the involved agencies—Government delegations and sub-delegations, regional emergency centers, and 112—and population warning systems, with the objective of evacuating residents from the floodable area within the first half hour after a breach. For the owners of the lands included in the annex, the process opens the way to claim and to know the exact extent of the occupation of their plots.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Cáceres, no. 0194, October 9, 2026, Section III - State Administration, pp. 1-14 (official reference: BOP-2026-4766).