We welcome you to this mountainous aquatic paradise where you can take a boat ride to indulge in the wonderful sights of the Rialb Reservoir.

The Rialb Reservoir is the birth place of Club Nàutic Segre Rialb and we are making the most out of the new economic possibilities that this place has to offer.  We specialise in the water tourist industry offering new and exciting experiences of this idyllic surrounding, together with a great number of rural lodging nearby!

We are located in the beautiful La Baronia de Rialb valley in Noguera, inside the province of Lerida which is situated in the autonomy Catalonia, north eastern Spain.

The name of Baronia is rooted in the fact that it used to constitute the ancient jurisdictional term or baronía – barony, which was long established in the 14^th Century, in which governed a number of barons, the first being the Ribelles family.  The name Rialb comes from the River Alb or Rialb (from the Latin Rivo Albo), meaning White River which refers to the colour of the river bed from its limestone deposits.

The municipality of La Baronia de Rialb spreads over an extensive surface area of 145 km² with a maximum altitude of 747m. The area’s population of just 280 inhabitants live in 11 towns – Gualter, La Serra, La Torre de Rialb, Politg, Palau de Rialb, Bellfort, Pallerols, el Puig, Sant Martí de Rialb, Vilaplana and Sant Cristòfol de la Donzell which includes secluded homes and 23 Romanesque churches.  The zone’s economy is based mainly in the primary sectors of agriculture and animal husbandry.  They are also seeing growth in tourism and the service sector.  The Rialb Reservoir’s facilities can be found in the municipality.

The Rialb Reservoir is fed by the river Rialb, the river Segre, the Salada Bank which belong to the Ebro Basin.  The dam is 99 metres in height and building began in 1992, just a few kilometres below the Oliana Reservoir.  Rialb began to fill in 1999 and was opened in the year 2000.  The construction required an investment of 40 billion pesetas (240 million euros in today’s currency) and has a capacity of 402.8 cubic hectometres, four times that of Oliana.  The dam floods at 1,500Ha for the provision of drinking water, hydroelectric energy and irrigation.

The reservoir’s main recipients are the Urgell and Segarra-Garrigues channels, the latter being the most recently constructed, as well as providing water to some 80 population centres.  The reservoir is managed by the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation.  Furthermore, in the year 2006, the Rialb hydroelectric station and its adjacent substation got underway.

Although the dam was opened in the year 2000 and with 11 years of age, it did not reach its maximum capacity until April 2010.

Land expropriation was finalised in 1992 ready for construction work on the reservoir which was to be named the Rialb Reservoir given the large area that was affected in the municipality of La Baronia de Rialb.

In order for the construction to take place, a total of 300 people were moved from the municipalities of Miralpeix, Tiruana, Castellnou de Bassella, La Cluad’Aguilar and Aguilar de Bassella.

The Rialb Reservoir which started to flood the town of Tiurana in the Noguera district on the 4^th May 1999 already releases water from the highest point of sea level in the year 2010 which reached 430 metres and finished its filling phase, which had lasted 11 years.  The Ebro Hydrographic Confederation owns the infrastructure.

We hope that you have enjoyed reading about this wonderful place and its history and that you take away some positive anecdotes.  We welcome your visit and look forward to hearing from you soon.  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!