Albuñuelas delegates the management of the urban water cycle to the Provincial Council

The Albuñuelas City Council has delegated to the Provincial Council of Granada, with indefinite temporary validity, the competence to provide the services included in the Urban Water Cycle. This was agreed upon by the Ordinary Plenary Session of September 28, 2026, and the agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Granada No. 206, Friday, October 23, 2026, with the official reference BOP-GRA-2026-206005 and the signature of the mayor-president, José Díaz Alcántara, in Albuñuelas on October 16, 2026.

Regulatory framework and scope of the delegation

The delegation complies with the Regulatory Ordinance for the Provision of the Provincial Urban Water Cycle Management Service in the province of Granada and the sectoral regulations in force at any given time. The agreement invokes Article 26.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, regarding the cost-recovery regime of the service.

The Plenary justifies the decision based on the need to “guarantee the adequate provision of public services” of the water cycle and to “improve the efficiency of its public management,” without jeopardizing the economy and financial sustainability of the Provincial Council. The delegating entity commits to providing the requested information, collaborating with material and human resources, and providing the necessary data for the implementation of the service in compliance with data protection regulations.

Water supply and sewerage, yes; wastewater treatment, no

The agreement details which phases of the cycle the Provincial Council assumes and which are excluded:

• High-pressure water supply or adduction: individual, not included in the delegation.
• Low-pressure water supply: yes.
• Sanitation or sewerage: yes.
• Urban wastewater treatment: no.
• Operation, maintenance, and conservation of treatment plants that do not comply with the conditions of the discharge authorization: no.
• Regeneration and reuse of treated wastewater: no.

The Provincial Council will exercise regulatory and self-organization powers, programming or planning powers, expropriation powers, and powers of investigation, demarcation, and ex officio recovery of assets, as well as the presumption of legitimacy and enforceability of its acts, forced and sanctioning execution, ex officio review, and the immunity of assets and rights from seizure.

Deferred entry into force and cost settled quarterly

The agreement will enter into force the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of the Province of Granada, but the effective provision will not begin until the technical, economic, and administrative preparatory actions are concluded and, if the management method requires prior contracting, from the moment the contractor begins the material provision. Until that date, the delegation will not be effective.

Regarding the cost, the Provincial Council will charge the City Council the actual cost of the service based on its use, and the City Council is obliged to pay the resulting settlements, being able to establish and order the corresponding fee. The Provincial Urban Water Cycle Service will determine this cost quarterly through an administrative file, taking into account, among other elements:

• Fixed and variable costs for operation, conservation, maintenance, control, inspection, management, and administration.
• The remuneration of the contractor or operator.
• Volumes supplied, evacuated, treated, or purified, and the number of subscribers.
• Incorporated infrastructures and phases effectively provided.

Since it is in the nature of public income, payment must be made within the timeframes of Article 62.2 of the General Tax Law; once that period has elapsed, the Provincial Council may offset existing credits in favor of the City Council against the generated debt.

Revocation and conflict resolution

The revocation of the delegation or the separation from the provincial service shall be governed by local government legislation and management instruments, and shall require compensating the Provincial Council for the expenses incurred, including any indemnities that must be borne toward the operator if the service was tendered, as well as damages caused. Disputes regarding interpretation, compliance, termination, or effects shall fall under the jurisdiction of the contentious-administrative courts of Granada. The agreement also empowers the mayor-president to issue the acts necessary for its full effectiveness and orders that the Provincial Council be notified.

The change directly affects the residents of Albuñuelas: the management of the municipal low-pressure supply network and the sewerage system passes into provincial hands, with a cost model settled by use that the City Council must pass on through a fee, and with an exit clause that requires financial compensation to the Provincial Council.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Granada, No. 206, Friday, October 23, 2026, Section I (Local Administration), pp. 15-17 (official reference: BOP-GRA-2026-206005).