The Segura River Basin in the south east of Spain suffers from a structural condition of water scarcity and drought occurrence. For decades, the focus for dealing with this condition has been placed on instrumental objectives such as increasing water transfer facilities (i.e. Tagus Segura Water Transfer, a major diversion project), developing alternative sources (i.e. desalination and reuse) or making use of water in a more technically efficient way (i.e. irrigation modernization). So far, mainly the highly disputed water resources transferred from the Tagus basin have satisfied water demand. The changing climate is increasing drought frequency in both basins; requiring the implementation of additional strategies to adapt. A recent strategy, currently under implementation, is introducing a set of Economic Policy Instruments aimed at addressing structural modifications of the long-term water demand in the Segura basin to achieve efficient use of the limited water resources available.