Búger approves the ordinance limiting water use during drought

The Plenary of the Búger City Council has definitively approved non-fiscal ordinance no. XXVIII, regulating the measures applicable to the drinking water supply and the uses of water in situations of drought, risk of drought, or when the municipal administration, given the high consumption levels produced, considers it convenient to avoid jeopardizing the supply to the municipality. The regulation is published in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB) no. 128, of October 10, 2026, Section I. General Provisions, page 54724 (official reference 1230093). The text bears the electronic signature of the mayor, Pere Torrens Escalas, dated October 7, 2026.

The provisional approval was agreed upon in the Plenary session held on July 30, 2026. After the corresponding processing and without any allegations or suggestions having been presented, it proceeds to publication in accordance with article 103 of Law 20/2006, of December 15, on municipal and local regime of the Balearic Islands. The regulation is based on municipal competencies regarding the drinking water supply and the power to approve ordinances under Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the bases of the local regime.

Scenarios and competent body

The ordinance establishes three scenarios of increasing severity, which the Mayor’s Office activates and deactivates through a reasoned resolution, and which determine the applicable measures:

• Alert: moderate severity drought, with the first mandatory saving measures for non-essential uses and awareness campaigns.
• Exceptionality: intermediate phase of high severity, with a drastic intensification of restrictions and reduction of flow rates and agricultural irrigation.
• Emergency: scenario of maximum severity, with temporary cuts or pressure drops and restriction of consumption to a strict limit of liters per inhabitant per day.

It is the responsibility of the Mayor’s Office to determine the extraordinary measures, specify their scope, fix their duration, and issue municipal communication bans to the citizenry. It is also responsible for the resolution of sanctioning proceedings and the imposition of penalties.

What can be limited

The restrictions apply to consumption and uses linked to the municipal supply service and, when established by the activation resolution, to other water sources. Among the planned measures are:

• Regulate, limit, or prohibit the filling and refilling of swimming pools.
• Limit the watering of gardens, green areas, and orchards.
• Restrict the cleaning of vehicles, boats, streets, roads, sidewalks, facades, and sewers.
• Limit the use of water to remove dust and suspended particles.
• Restrict ornamental fountains, ponds, artificial lakes, and other elements for aesthetic or recreational use.
• Limit fountains without automatic shut-off, public showers, and sports or educational facilities.
• Limit farms that use water from the supply network.
• Percentage-wise reduce domestic and non-domestic consumption, and limit allocations.
• Reduce network pressure and, in emergencies, implement temporary cuts.
• Require consumption reduction plans from large consumers, i.e., holders with an annual consumption exceeding 2,500 m³.
• Guarantee supply to sensitive users, such as hospitals, health centers, nursing homes, schools, or soup kitchens.

Consumption exceeding the established limitations will be considered excessive consumption.

Sanctions and control

Infractions are classified as minor, serious, and very serious, and are graded according to the declared drought status, the damages caused, the impact on the supply system, intentionality, recidivism within one year, and persistence in the behavior. The fines are:

• Minor infractions: up to 750 euros.
• Serious infractions: from 751 to 1,500 euros.
• Very serious infractions: from 1,501 to 3,000 euros.

Control and surveillance will be the responsibility of City Council personnel, the Local Police, and the technical staff of the supply management entities. As provisional measures, telemetry meters or flow and pressure limiters may be installed at the user’s expense and, in the case of very serious infractions, the supply may be temporarily suspended.

The ordinance will enter into force once the approval procedure formalities established in articles 49 and 70.2 of Law 7/1985 are completed. For the residents of Búger, the regulation means that the City Council may restrict daily uses of water —swimming pools, watering, cleaning, or fountains— and sanction excessive consumption whenever a drought scenario is declared or consumption is detected that puts the municipality’s supply at risk.

Source: Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB), no. 128, October 10, 2026, Section I. General Provisions, p. 54724 (official reference: 1230093).