Museo del Agua, Guadalest, Alicante province, Spain

This is a small scale museum situated in what was once a factory in the municipality of Guadalest, which is located in the Alicante province. The museum consists of two buildings, one that was used as a Casa de Partidor (place where irrigation water is diverted to channels) and the other houses machinery associated with energy generation. The museum houses four distinct collections: the first related to the geomorphology of water in the area. The second devoted to the hydrological history of the area: Arab baths which continue to be a hallmark of the Spanish way of life, as well as the Arab tradition of irrigation that continues to underpin irrigation in this part of Spain in the twenty first century. The ethnography of water in Guadalest and its surrounds is picked up in the third collection. The fourth collection illustrates the modern technology that is used to supplement water supply in times of scarcity. 

Overall, El Museo del Agua in Guadalest even though it is a small scale museum, offers a variety of collections that preserve the rich tapestry of  the Moorish heritage of water in this part of Spain.  The role of the museum in keeping alive the dialogue that embodies the role that water played in village life in times gone by, along with what water means in the present, cannot be underestimated.

Photos © Museo del Agua