Agreement between the Junta and Vianos for the new water pipeline

The Regional Ministry of Sustainable Development of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and the Vianos City Council (Albacete) have formalized an agreement to execute the new high-pressure water pipeline between the El Colmenar and Los Pocicos reservoirs, with a total estimated budget of 107,412.48 euros (VAT included). The agreement was signed on September 22, 2026, and is published in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha number 192, dated October 6, 2026, via the Resolution of 09/25/2026, from the General Secretariat (official reference 2026/7073).

The agreement responds to the request for assistance submitted by the Vianos City Council to improve its network and high-pressure supply system. According to the analysis contained in the text, the supply to the municipality’s main center “continues to be very vulnerable regarding the guarantee of supply in quantity, due to the insufficiency of existing infrastructures,” therefore, a new pipeline is considered necessary to guarantee an “adequate and continuous supply to the entire population.”

The publication is arranged in accordance with Article 7.1 of Decree 315/2007, of December 27, which regulates the General Registry of Agreements of the regional administration. The resolution bears the signature of the general secretary, María del Carmen Martín Sánchez, and the agreement bears those of the regional minister of Sustainable Development, María Mercedes Gómez Rodríguez, and the mayor-president of Vianos, Aurelia Sánchez Navarro.

Financing: 98% regional and 2% municipal

The total amount of the actions amounts to 107,412.48 euros, charged to budget application 56010000.512A.69000, expenditure project OOAA/0000001906, and fund FPA0070050 of the expenditure budget of the General Directorate of Water for 2026. The distribution between administrations, established according to Article 2 of Decree 18/1989, of March 7, is as follows:

• Government of Castilla-La Mancha: 98% of the total, 105,264.23 euros.
• Vianos City Council: 2% of the total, 2,148.25 euros, charged to application 161/751 of its 2026 budget.

The action is financed by the DMA Canon Fund (Water Framework Directive), a regional tax created by Law 2/2022, of February 18, on the Waters of Castilla-La Mancha, whose collection is earmarked for investments in integrated water cycle infrastructures. The work was already included in the Investment and Contract Program for the 2026 fiscal year, approved by resolution of the Management-Directorate of the Water Agency on February 23, 2026, after it could not be executed in 2025 due to the initial implementation of the canon.

Deadlines, validity, and obligations

The valued report of the work, drafted by Sergio Briones Gómez, head of the Provincial Service of the General Directorate of Water in Albacete, establishes a material execution period of two months. The schedule provided for in the agreement is as follows:

• One month for the Vianos City Council to certify its conformity with the report and process the consultation procedure substituting the building permit.
• Four months for the Ministry of Sustainable Development, through the General Directorate of Water, to prepare, award, and execute the administrative works contract or its assignment to own resources.
• Twelve months of validity for the agreement, extendable for up to six more months by agreement of the monitoring commission.
• One month, from the completion of the work, for the delivery and payment of the municipal part of the co-financing.

The Vianos City Council assumes the availability of the land, sectoral authorizations, taxes derived from the execution, and the reception, maintenance, and conservation of the infrastructure, which will be incorporated into its assets. The Ministry of Sustainable Development co-finances, executes the works, reports on their progress, and transfers ownership to the council. Monitoring is the responsibility of a commission with one representative from each entity and a secretary, with a voice but no vote, who may approve expenditure increases of up to 10% of the budget. Delays in reception or municipal payment are penalized with coercive fines of 10% of the final amount per month.

Impact for the residents

The new pipeline between El Colmenar and Los Pocicos addresses a structural supply guarantee problem in a municipality of the province of Albacete and will be funded almost entirely with regional funds from the water canon. The agreement thus converts the collection of the tax into a concrete work for the residents, who will assume only 2% of the cost and will receive the infrastructure as property once it has been accepted.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, no. 192, October 6, 2026, section III, page 34177 (official reference: 2026/7073).