Regulation on Optimizing the Use of Agricultural Water.

This Regulation aims to codify provisions to optimize the water consumption in the agricultural section. The Ministry of Energy is the responsible authority to follow the guidelines of this Regulation and should work in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture. The Regional Water Agencies shall supply and distribute water according to the Optimum Water Consumption Patterns prepared by the present Regulation. The Regulation considers specific subsidies as well as reduced water charges for agricultural sectors which are able to reduce their water consumption. Any drilling of deep or semi-deep wells requires official permission of the Ministry of Energy. The Regulation consists of 24 articles, subdivided in 4 Chapters as follows: General Principles and Basics (I); Volumetric Water Delivery in Irrigation Network (II); Water Volume Control in Deep and Semi-deep Wells (III); Miscellaneous Provisions (IV). The Regulation also includes 3 Annexes at the end of the main text.