The paper describes a water conflict for using the water regulated by the Thomas Osterne and Manoel reservoirs in Cara's river basin in southern part of Ceará State. Along the river, farmers have built small dams to withdraw waters released in the river from the reservoirs. In times of droughts, the conflict settled in due to the retention of water in upstream that prevented it came to users of downstream. The article also describes the Ceará State's institutional model and the way it deals with water conflicts. It is analyzed the practice of negotiating the water allocation as a strategy for conflict mediation. The main actors involved in conflict and its mediation were: users, technical water managers, prosecutors, political, and environmental institutions. As a result, it has been achieved, peacefully, the removal of earth's dams that interfered in the free flow of water.
water allocation; water conflict; water resources management
