Algorfa approves the water and sewage tariff ordinance

The Algorfa City Council has approved the ordinance regulating the patrimonial payment for the use of the drinking water supply, sewerage, and meter maintenance services, and with it, the tariff system to be paid by all users in the municipality. The agreement was adopted by the Plenary in an extraordinary session on November 3, 2026, and is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Alicante, number 211, dated November 5, 2026, in section III (Local Administration), corresponding to announcement 8575/2026. According to its final provision, the regulation comes into force once the publication of its definitive approval has been carried out, in accordance with article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, regulating the Bases of Local Regime.

A patrimonial payment, not a tax

The ordinance does not create a tax, but rather classifies the charges as a non-tax public patrimonial payment, in accordance with article 20.6 of Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004, which approves the Recast Text of the Law Regulating Local Treasuries, and with the first additional provision of Law 58/2003, General Taxation. The change in legal nature derives from Law 9/2017, on Public Sector Contracts.

The Algorfa City Council maintains ownership of the service, the management of which is exercised indirectly by a concessionaire company; the management powers correspond to said manager, while the Council retains those of organization, instruction, decision, and review. As it is a mandatory service, the regulation invokes articles 25.2 c) and 26.1.a) of Law 7/1985 and article 34 a) of Law 8/2010, on the Local Regime of the Valencian Community.

The procedure requires a mandatory report from the Price Commission of the Generalitat, whose intervention regime is set out in Decree 60/2026, of April 17, of the Consell. The published text refers the specific amounts to the annex of the ordinance itself and ratifies the tariffs in force at the time of its definitive approval.

Fixed fee, variable fee, and eight types of use

The tariff system is structured as a binomial. The fixed or service fee is billed monthly based on the meter size and the type of use, regardless of consumption; the variable fee is calculated by the cubic meters measured in the individual meter. Sewerage is settled based on the water consumed.

The ordinance distinguishes these uses:

• Domestic, including hospitals, health centers, and clinics.
• Commercial, industrial, construction, and agricultural.
• Luxury (garden irrigation, swimming pools) and fire fighting.
• Special uses, such as heating.

When the meter cannot be read, the management company may bill an estimated consumption using a scale of criteria that goes up to the municipal average of the previous year, with the obligation to include the mention “ESTIMATED CONSUMPTION” on the invoice. In buildings with a community meter, as many service fees as there are urban units shall be applied.

Billing, non-payment, and leaks

The billing period is generally quarterly, although it becomes monthly for supplies whose average consumption over the last year is equal to or greater than 1,200 m³. The voluntary payment period is one calendar month from the date of collection, and fifteen calendar days for monthly billing.

Failure to pay one quarterly receipt or two monthly receipts allows for the suspension of supply, following certified communication fifteen days in advance; the cutoff may not be carried out on Fridays, holidays, or eves. Service will not be interrupted for those who prove economic vulnerability. Thirty calendar days with the contract suspended will result in an ex officio termination. Furthermore, buildings located 100 meters or less from the general network are obliged to connect to the sewerage system, with the cost of the works borne by the owners.

Unnoticed leaks may be discounted if documented, with a limit of two consecutive periods and the requirement that 24 months have elapsed since the previous discount; with a remote-reading meter, the request must be submitted within fifteen days following the first alarm. Provisional supplies for portable installations require a deposit of 200 euros per month.

Automatic review and appeals

The management company may request a review of tariffs through two channels: a general modification justified by an economic study or an abbreviated review using the annual formula of Decree 60/2026. Tariffs shall be understood as approved by tacit consent if three months pass from the entry of the file without a resolution. Meter maintenance is reviewed at 1% per month of the manufacturer’s list price. New amounts only require publication in the official gazette.

Against the agreement, which ends the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed within one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal before the Contentious-Administrative Court of Elche within two months. The announcement was signed in Algorfa on November 4, 2026, by the mayor-president, Manuel Iván Ros Rodes.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Alicante, No. 211 of November 5, 2026, Section III. Local Administration (City Council of Algorfa), page 1 (official reference: 8575/2026).