How to apply for a Watercraft licence from the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar

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If you own a small watercraft, such as a paddleboard, kayak, canoe or fishing dinghy, and you want to paddle in reservoirs or rivers in the Valencia region, then you might need to apply for a permit called a “Responsible Declaration of Navigation” (DECLARACIÓN RESPONSIBLE) from the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar.

Small inflatable boards/toys used for swimming and playing, however, do not require a permit.

Many people are unaware of this requirement for using a watercraft on inland water managed by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar.

This is especially relevant to people who are not local residents, since the information is not specifically publicly displayed in car parks, nor at water access areas, such as piers.

You will see signage indicating the presence of zebra mussels, stating that a “Responsible Declaration of Navigation” (DECLARACIÓN RESPONSIBLE) from the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar is required.

However, when zebra mussels are not present, there is no other information present.

An explicit notice informing people that a permit is likely required to use a watercraft in these areas would be beneficial to the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar, potential watercraft users, the environment, and the public in general!

The Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar (CHJ) regulate the use of inland water in the Júcar River basin in Valencia, Spain.

This Júcar River basin includes most of the rivers and reservoirs in the Valencia Region, but not all of them.

There are some small parts of northern Valencia, which are covered by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro or the Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura instead.

Licencing for recreational use of the Júcar River basin (managed by the helps the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar) to:

Control the number of people entering sensitive areas
Reduce environmental damage
Prevent the spread of invasive species
Ensure personal safety while on the water
Avoid the pollution of drinking water.

Dangers posed to small watercraffts

There are various dangers posed to small watercrafts in the reservoirs and rivers that managed by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar…

Dangers related to dams, which you may need to stay away from, include:

Drainage organs
Surface spillway
Hydraulic infrastructures
Hydroelectric infrastructures
General access to the dam (where paddling is allowed nearby).

Some additional dangers that could be posed to watercrafts include:

Seaplanes (hidroaviones) that collect water from reservoirs.

For example, in Guadalest reservoir, and Embalse de Tous

Currents
Seasonal changes.

Legal Regulations

There are various legal regulations regarding navigation on reservoirs and rivers in the Júcar River Basin…

In general, it is prohibited for watercrafts to paddle within 100 m of the dam or other hydraulic infrastructure, unless stated otherwise.

However, in the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar´s prohibitions and limitations document, most of the reservoirs outline distances further than this, up to a distance of 1.500 metres!

The specific laws are outlined by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar here, including:

Permits required for individuals (which is covered in this article)
Permits required for clubs/companies
Fees applicable to the various watercrafts above
Where to find more information
Contact details.

Navigation Fees

If a permit is required for your watercraft, a small annual fee (Canon de navegación) will apply.

At the time of writing this article, the annual fee for a watercraft (CLASE A – NAVEGACIÓN A REMO), over 3 metres long, is 75.58€.

You can view the full list of fees outlined by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar here.

Permit: DECLARACIÓN RESPONSIBLE

Individuals must apply for a “Responsible Declaration of Navigation” (DECLARACIÓN RESPONSIBLE) to paddle a watercraft if is:

Less than 2.5 metres long, in water free from zebra mussels

For example: Guadalest, Bellús and Beniarrés reservoirs

Less than 1.5 metres long, in water with any presence of zebra mussels

For example: Embalse Escalona, Embalse de Tous and the Embalse Amadorio.

They are also present in the Embalse Crevillente, although this reservoirt is managed by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura.

These conditions of the “Responsible Declaration of Navigation” (DEDCLARACIÓN RESPONSIBLE) are outlined on the HOJA IMFORMATIVE here, in case you want to read them in full.

Or you can read the document that I translated into English here (coming soon!)

How to Apply

You can only apply for one permit per person, so if you have several vessels, you need to include them all together.

There is also a different application process for companies (such as an adventure company that hire out paddleboards/kayaks).

You can submit the individual-person “Responsible Declaration of Navigation” (DEDCLARACIÓN RESPONSIBLE):

Electronically (e.g. with a digital certificate)
At post offices in Spain (Correos)
Spanish diplomatic representations or consular offices abroad.
In registry assistance offices.
In any other manner established by current regulations.

Specific rules for individual bodies of water

You can read the “Prohibitions and limitations for navigation within the scope of the Júcar River Basin Authority“ (La Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar) here.

This is a table-style document listing all of the reservoirs and rivers that are part of the Júcar River Basin. It shows the:

Location
Presence of zebra mussels
Extra prohibitions or limitations specific to that body of water
Other relevant organisations (For example, Iberdrola at Embalse Cortes).

Presence of Zebra mussels

To see the current status regarding the presence of zebra mussels in bodies of water in the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar:

Open the interactive map
Too see reservoirs, select Añadir (on the blue bar), and choose “Navegación. Afección mejillón cebra. Embalses”
Too see rivers, select Añadir (on the blue bar), and choose “Navegación. Afección mejillón cebra. Embalses”
Reservoirs/rivers highlighted in LIGHT GREEN are completely free from zebra mussels.

Zebra mussel free reservoirs

For example, three reservoirs (near me) that are completely free from zebra mussels (at the time of writing this article) include:

Guadalest reservoir
- It is prohibited to approach within 200 meters of the dam
- Special attention must be paid to the danger posed by seaplanes using the reservoir
Beniarrés reservoir
- It is prohibited to approach within 700 meters of the dam
Bellús reservoir
- It is prohibited to approach within 200 meters of the dam.

So, if you use a watercraft less than 2.5 metres long, in these waters, then you don´t need to do anything.

However, if you want to paddle anywhere that does have any presence of zebra mussels, the laws will apply, and you will need to follow the cleaning procedure…

Cleaning Protocol

One key requirement is to clean equipment after you have been paddling in a reservoir that has some presence of zebra mussels.

This is in place to stop the spread of the zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha).

It is particularly relevant to carry out this procedure before you use your equipment in a different body of water.

This procedure applies to:

The inside/outside of your watercraft
Any other items/equipment that has touched the water.

For example: Paddles, lifejacket, wetsuit, gloves, helmet, rope, fin, waterproof bags, etc

First, you must visually inspect your equipment and remove any:

Zebra mussels
Aquatic vegetation debris.

Zebra mussel larvae, however, cannot be seen…

The procedure states that zebra mussel larvae can be eliminated by either:

Drying completely with a sponge/cloth, and then air-dried for 10-20 days before using on another body of water
Cleaning with a pressure washer (if it cannot be “quarantined”)
Cleaning (spraying) with a chlorinated solution of 1 mg of free chlorine (0.25ml of bleach + 10 litres of water).

Disposal requirements:

Water from the cleaning process must not go into to waterways or sewer networks. It must be collected and disposed of.
Disposable gloves must be stored in a bag and disposed of.

You can see the official cleaning protocol here, which is in Spanish and has 16-pages with some pretty pictures.

Or you can read my copy translated into English here (coming soon!), which has 3 pages and only covers the non-motorised vessels.

I have also highlighted some information that I deemed to be important.

Licence Plate

Once you have your permit, it is valid for 1 year.

However, if you change your watercraft, or if new zebra mussels appear, you will need to renew it sooner.

You must display the appropriate identification number (a bit like a license plate) on your watercraft, which you can read more about here.

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