Raise the water level of a river - Luz Broto Luz Broto

Campo Adentro, Centre d'Art la Panera, Canal de Seròs – Río Segre,

Lleida, ES

Raise the water level of a river, Intervention, February 2014

Install a hidden 200-meter long hose to permanently divert 40 liters/hour of water from a canal to a river.

Historically, the Segre River provided enough water to conserve along its shores what little irrigated agriculture existed in the region of Lleida. Over time, a network of canals allowed the cultivated land to expand, turning the dry land into a significant fruit-growing area. During this transformation process, the river’s water level dropped and has fallen below the minimum required by environmental standards. The public concession of exploitation rights to the private sector has remained unchanged since the early twentieth century. The public administration recently renewed it for a further 100 years under the same terms: 60,000 l/s for the canal and 2,000 l/s for the river.

The intervention attempts to minimally decompensate, from the furtive and precarious, the impact that large infrastructures have on the state of territory.

The hose operation depended on external maintenance and, due to the limited resources of the institution, it worked for five days and then remained inactive for seven months before disappearing.

Preparatory drawing

Exhibition view at Campo Adentro, Centre d’Art la Panera.

Photographs, contact sheets, delivery note, drawing and color print.

Pencil on paper, 21 x 29,7 cm; 2 color prints, 59 x 38 cm each and 3 of 28 x 42 cm each; delivery note, 20,8 x 27 cm; 5 glossy color photographs, 16 x 12,3 cm each.

PDF (CAST) Exhibit label Raising the water level of a river

Advice on pipelines installation: Reg Servei

Aerial drone photography: HoverFilms APV, con la colaboración de Lleida Drone.

Thanks to: Gloria Picazo, Antoni Jové, Jordi Alfonso, Carlos Meler (Centre d’art La Panera), Josep Ripoll, Martín Vitaliti, Martín Llaveneras, Agnès Pe, Empar Buxeda, Helena Guiu, Jordi Antas, Nuria Solans (El Xop), Joan Vazquez (IPCENA), Xavier Eritja (Plataforma Lleida Ambiental), Xavier Esterri (Grup d’Estudis Horta Riu), Marc Sans (Horta Riu, Ateneu Popular de Ponent), Ignasi Aldomà (Universitat de Lleida),Maribel Pedrol (Espai Cultural dels Canals d’Urgell).

This proposal took place in the framework of Campo Adentro, curated by Fernando García Dory at Centre d’Art la Panera, Lleida.

PDF (CAST) Information sheet Campo Adentro, La Panera