Abstract
The internal valleys of the Andes cordillera are dominated by glaciers and páramos which constitute reservoirs which generate abundant and regular flows. This resource is widely used since the Spanish conquest by numerous hydraulic infrastructures built at the time of opportunities or of conflicts in the form of superimposed developments. These traditional irrigated systems structure the spatial organization and use. But this hydraulic heritage is increasingly difficult to maintain and manage when the tensions on the water increase with the increase and diversification of the water demands and when the available resource decreases with the glaciers reduction and the recent exploitation of the páramos which modify their storage and regulation capacities.