Las aguas de Lobosillo

Abstract

This contribution proposes the study of the water supply system of Cartagena from the end of the XIXth century to the incoming of the Taibilla Water in 1945. During some decades some private companies searched in the proximities of the town for the solution to one of the most important problem that the city had: the water supply. These companies started the works for the fi nding and conduction from some springs located in the west part of the «Campo de Cartagena». The quality and quantity of the water was not enough to solvent the defi cit, because the population of the city was very big. Here we collect the bibliographical information and it is connected with some structures that are still in the area.

En un medio físico semiárido donde el agua escasea, desde comienzos del siglo XIX y durante más de 150 años existió en la pedanía de Lobosillo (Murcia, SE de España) un sistema de regadío de propiedad privada que era distribuido mediante el procedimiento de subasta pública y que propició unos usos y costumbres muy característicos, incluyendo algunos episodios de conflictividad social producto de la diferente titularidad del agua y de la tierra.

From the beginning of the XIX century and during 150 years, on a semiarid environment with a lasting lack of water, an irrigation system based on the private property of the water that were sold at public auction were developed in Lobosillo, small town placed in Murcia (South-east of Spain).This system made possible the appearance of typical uses and customs, as well as some social confl icts related to the different ownership of the water and the land.