On World Environment Day we explore the details of this municipality located in the dry plains of the Bajo/Baix Cinca region
The relationship between the municipality of Candasnos and water management is not a passing fad or a form of greenwashing . This town, located in the dry plains of our region, has been optimizing water use for decades, like many of the driest areas in our country.
Today, the " Balsa Buena " is a point of interest for visitors to the municipality. It is a cistern for collecting and storing rainwater. It is a circular, excavated structure, approximately 20 meters in diameter, built with large stone blocks. It formerly provided drinking water for the villagers and, today, is used for livestock.
As Mayor Santiago Guallarte explains, there used to be three reservoirs . The first, located where the current sports pavilion stands, collected the water flowing down from the mountain. There, much of the mud was settled, and then the water was channeled to the Balsa Buena (Good Reservoir), which, being solidified, was where people drank from. When this second reservoir overflowed, the water was diverted to another reservoir called the Balsa de las Mulas (Mule Reservoir), used for animal consumption, located where the current municipal swimming pool is. It was a complete system of reservoirs designed to make full use of the water and not waste a single drop.
Similarly, the main cistern, formerly used for drinking water, wasn't cleaned of mud until it was completely empty , all designed to avoid wasting a single drop of water. It was divided into sections, like wedges in a game of Trivial Pursuit, and each family was responsible for a portion. In this way, the mud was gradually removed and accumulated around the cistern.
Candasnos is a village in the Bajo/Baix Cinca region, located in the Ebro Depression. Situated on a plateau where the remains of old water storage ponds can still be seen, the landscape is predominantly arid. Due to its dry environment, there are numerous remnants of these old ponds.
The earliest traces of civilization in Candasnos date back to 900 BC (Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age) and are found at the archaeological sites of Valdeladrones, Tozal de los Regallos (belonging to the Urnfield culture), and Cabeza la Vieja . The artifacts discovered are exhibited in the Provincial Museum of Huesca and the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid.
