Over 4,000 Digitalized Wells in La Mancha: Smart Irrigation with IRIS NB-IoT

Water Innovation · La Mancha, Toledo

The digitalization of groundwater has moved beyond a future projection to become an unavoidable technical and regulatory requirement in the agricultural sector. In La Mancha, this transition is already fully operational. The Groundwater User Communities (CUAs) of Consuegra-Villacañas and Lillo-Quintanar, in the province of Toledo, have led this modernization alongside Hidroconta, deploying over 4,000 meters with IRIS NB-IoT communication modules in irrigation wells.

This is one of the largest underground water remote reading projects ever carried out in Spain, setting the benchmark for the technical requirements that will shape irrigation nationwide.

The regulatory framework

Towards hourly remote reading

The publication of Orden TED/1191/2024 establishes a new water control standard: public hydraulic domain abstractions are required to transmit their meter readings daily to the relevant river basin authority.

To meet this new standard, digitalization relies on our IRIS module with NB-IoT technology. This device, developed by Hidroconta in line with the landmark resolution of 2 July 2020 by the Duero River Basin Confederation, ensures automatic and unattended transmission of hourly data to the administration, minimizing human error. In the Upper Guadiana context (Guadiana River Basin Confederation), this directive is applied across all CUAs with the utmost rigor: precise measurement and automated reporting are mandatory for all abstractions, from minor uses to high-flow intakes, regardless of size or concession volume.

Our solution

Technological versatility for diverse topologies

The success of the technological deployment in the CUAs of Consuegra-Villacañas and Lillo-Quintanar lies in the ability of our solution to integrate into their respective management models. To address this technical reality, Hidroconta has designed a strategy based on flexibility and precision, implementing two of our water meters — both certified with conformity marking for use in the public hydraulic domain:

• Hidrojet meters: Multi-jet technology for standard flow rates.
• Predator meters: Woltmann technology for high-volume management.

This equipment covers a wide hydraulic range, from DN15 to DN300.

The integration of IRIS with NB-IoT communications adds a key technical advantage: its ability to penetrate hard-to-reach areas — such as wells, irrigation shelters or inspection chambers — ensuring robust cellular coverage without the need to invest in deploying and maintaining costly antenna or gateway infrastructure. Furthermore, being optimized to transmit small data packets (such as hourly meter readings) at very low energy consumption, it allows transmission module batteries to operate autonomously for years.

The figures reflect the scale of the challenge: over 2,100 units installed in Consuegra-Villacañas and over 1,900 in Lillo-Quintanar.

The modernization of these irrigation communities has been carried out under the umbrella of the PERTE for Water Cycle Digitalization, the strategic programme promoted by the Spanish Government for the technological transformation of water resources.

Staying ahead of the industry standard

Anticipating regulation: the modern irrigator’s advantage

With over 4,000 active abstraction points in the Upper Guadiana, the agricultural sector demonstrates that it has the technology required to comply with the most demanding regulatory frameworks. The modernization of irrigation infrastructure gives farmers full control over their water rights and consumption data.

The digitalization of irrigation is an unstoppable process. Getting ahead of regulation not only ensures legal compliance but also optimizes day-to-day water management. At Hidroconta, we provide the technological muscle and field expertise to support users in this leap towards water efficiency.