ESTANY D'IVARS-VILA-SANA, THE LARGEST LAKE IN CATALONIA

Thanks to an agreement recently signed by a series of different institutions, Lleida will soon have one of the largest lakes in Catalonia (Spain). This project entails recovering the former Estany d'Ivars-Vila-Sana (Ivars Pool), a natural space of great scenic and biological beauty which was originally created about one hundred and fifty years ago but was drained in 1951 in order to use the land for growing crops. This ambitious project will provide the southern comarques (local districts) of Lleida with an important tourist attraction and also with a space of tremendous ecological and educational interest.

The 132 hectare lake will offer around a dozen artificial islands, a great biological wealth (water and wetland birds, fauna and vegetation), and a park with special reception areas (equipped with facilities for environmental education such as museums and presentation halls), which will be the starting point for a number of walking itineraries. This space will also have rest and picnic areas as well as zones specifically reserved for sailing and fishing.

The original Ivars-Vila-Sana pool was created as a result of the construction of the Canal d'Urgell in 1860. The creation of this regionally important irrigation canal, to provide the population of the surrounding area with a reserve of water to combat possible droughts, also turned what had previously been a relatively small, shallow lake into the largest fresh-water lake in inland Catalonia. At the same time, the space became an important centre of social, cultural and economic life and a venue for such popular activities as gatherings and festivals, boat trips and fishing. It will now be possible to recover all of these former uses.