Following the floods of October 1973, in 1974 the Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir studied, within the Coordinated Plan of Works, the possibility of building a reservoir with the aim of preventing future floods and providing an assured a water supply for the irrigation of the Region of Guadix.

The construction of the Francisco Abellán Dam largely solved this serious social situation.

The reservoir guaranteed that there would be sufficient water for irrigating the approximately 5,000-hectare plain of the Hoya of Guadix during the summer months.

This security of water supply put an end to the situation of uncertainty that until then was a brake on investments in the improvement and conditioning of the land, revitalising the cultivation of fruit trees, of great tradition and quality in the area.

However, in recent years, with severe droughts, its production had fallen considerably.