Water system
The brine distribution system in Añana is truly exceptional because of its wooden architecture, but also because it is based on a system of springs and ancient rights of use documented in writing more than 1,200 years ago.
The brine springs -salty water with about 210 grams of salt per liter- are located at the head of the valley, at its southern end. A system of pine wood canals distributes the brine by gravity throughout the salt exploitation.
Salt Valley brine
The Añana salt makers devised a distribution system of canals built with hollowed out wooden logs. This network of channels is more than four kilometers long. By means of various support systems, it is possible to maintain the necessary slope so that the brine flows by gravity to almost all the points of the salt pans.
In this way, a unique and impressive landscape is created, where canals can be seen resting on the ground or supported by wooden pillars that reach up to ten meters in height in order to bridge the difference in level between two slopes.
The limited amount of salt water emanating from the springs and the large number of owners made it necessary to regulate and control its distribution so that there would be enough water to work all the farms.
Throughout the year, both day and night, all the brine flowing from the springs had an assigned owner. Following a strict schedule, the salineros interrupted the flow of salt water from the main distribution channels with clay and during the corresponding time they directed the flow to their wells and threshing floors.