Alcanar submits the water tax with a social rate for public consultation

The Alcanar City Council has initially approved the ordinance regulating the public non-tax patrimonial provision of the drinking water supply and sewerage service, a text that sets new rates and incorporates a social tariff with discounts. The agreement was reached by the Plenary in an ordinary session on October 29, 2026, and is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Tarragona on November 10, 2026 (CVE 2026-10599, file 5707/2026). The process opens a period of 30 business days to submit allegations and suggestions.

The document, signed by Mayor Marc Chavalera Esbri on November 9, responds to the changes introduced by Law 9/2017 on public sector contracts, which granted a non-tax nature to the consideration for water and sewerage services. Until now, the council covered the income from the water supply with a general ordinance of rates and prices and that of the sewerage with fiscal ordinance number 7.

The ordinance unifies the entire integrated water cycle into a single regulation and expressly repeals the two previous ordinances. It arrives as the service moves to be managed indirectly through an administrative concession contract, and the text ensures that the new tariff structure follows criteria of equity, sustainability, and cost recovery from the European Water Framework Directive. The text must be sent to the Price Commission of Catalonia, which must authorize the rates.

30 business days to appeal

• Deadline: 30 business days from the day following the last publication of the announcement in the gazette or on the municipal electronic office.
• In-person consultation: municipal offices at Generalitat Street, 10, Alcanar; also at the electronic office alcanar.cat.
• Process: any natural or legal person may examine the file, obtain a copy, and submit allegations or suggestions.
• If no allegations are formulated, the final approval with the full text will be published on the notice board and in the provincial gazette.

Social tariff and discounts

• The social tariff fully discounts the fixed fee of the water service and the first block of the domestic variable fee, from 0 to 9 m³/month, which is set at 0.0000 €/m³.
• It is accessible to beneficiaries recognized by the City Council or those who prove the social water canon of the Catalan Water Agency.
• Family units of more than three people extend the first consumption block by 4 m³/month for each additional person.
• The leak tariff applies the price of the first block to the excess over the average consumption of the previous year, provided there has been no other leak in the previous two years.
• Subscribers registered before the entry into force will not have to formalize any new contract or re-apply for the discounts.

Water cycle prices

• Water, monthly fixed fee: €4.7286 for meters up to 13 mm, €10.3321 for 20 mm, and €27.8967 for those over 30 mm.
• Water, general domestic use variable fee: €0.2767/m³ from 0 to 9 m³/month, €0.3181 from 10 to 15, €0.7954 from 16 to 18, and €2.7839 above 18 m³.
• Water, industrial and commercial use: €0.7976, €0.9172, and €3.2102/m³ depending on the consumption bracket.
• For Alcanar subscribers who purchase bulk water from the CAT, higher amounts apply, with a first domestic block of €0.4740/m³.
• Meter maintenance: from €0.5237/month (up to 13 mm) to €3.0896/month (over 30 mm).
• Sewerage: fixed fee of €0.1533/month for domestic use and €0.5525 for industrial and commercial, with a variable fee of €0.0644 and €0.1171/m³.
• Quarterly billing and payment terms of one month from the issuance of the receipt.

Entry into force and revision of rates

The ordinance will enter into force under the terms of article 70.2 of Law 7/1985 on the bases of the local regime and once the new service concession contract comes into effect. Starting from the second year, the rates may be revised periodically and predeterminately using the polynomial formula from the administrative specifications, which includes personnel, maintenance, analytical control, commercial management, electrical energy, and bulk water purchase.

An administrative contentious appeal may be filed against the agreement within two months before the administrative contentious chamber of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia.

The publication starts the countdown for Alcanar subscribers to object to rates that affect all users in the municipality, with a quarterly bill that changes its calculation base and includes, for the first time, a unified social tariff for water and sewerage.

Fuente: Official Gazette of the Province of Tarragona, November 10, 2026, section I, pp. 1-15 (official reference: CVE 2026-10599).