Deltebre renews water and sewage regulations with fines of 3,000 euros

The Plenary of the Deltebre City Council definitively approved on September 17, 2026, the modification of the Regulations of the municipal water supply and sewerage service, which is published in full in the Official Gazette of the Province of Tarragona on September 18, 2026, under reference CVE 2026-08663. The new text, consisting of 86 pages, organizes the obligations and prohibitions for users, supply cuts, and a sanctioning regime with fines of up to 3,000 euros for the water service. The regulation affects all residents and users of the municipality.

The initial approval took place at the plenary session on June 18, 2026, and the text was open for public inspection for 30 days via the BOPT of June 19, 2026 (2026-05805), the DOGC no. 9692 of June 23, 2026, the weekly newspaper l’Ebre of June 19, 2026, and the municipal electronic notice board. The allegations submitted were accepted by the plenary on September 17, 2026, such that the regulation is definitively approved and published for its entry into force, in application of articles 22.2.d) and 49 of Law 7/1985 and article 178 of Legislative Decree 2/2003.

The regulation is based on Law 7/1985, regulating the bases of the local regime, and Legislative Decree 3/2003, which assigns local entities the competence over the drinking water supply, and incorporates the technical and sanitary criteria of Royal Decree 3/2023. The edict was signed by the acting secretary, David Torres Fabra, on September 17, 2026. A contentious-administrative appeal against the regulation may be filed before the High Court of Justice of Catalonia within a period of two months.

Obligations and prohibitions for users

The text details the duties of subscribers and prohibited behaviors. Obligations include:

• Signing the supply contract or policy and paying invoices punctually.
• Using water for the contracted purposes and maintaining interior installations.
• Allowing Service personnel entry to inspect meters and seals.
• Reporting breakdowns and relevant modifications to the installation.

It is prohibited, among other behaviors, to resell water, establish fraudulent diversions before the measuring equipment, manipulate meters or seals, mix network water with other sources, and pour contaminating elements into the sewer.

Supply cuts and protection of vulnerable groups

The supply is considered permanent and can only be interrupted due to force majeure, breakdowns, sanitary reasons, drought, or other justified causes of public interest. In the event of a scheduled cut, the Managing Entity must provide notice at least 24 hours in advance; failure to do so is punishable. Cuts due to breakdowns not attributable to force majeure that exceed 48 hours entitle the user to a proportional compensation of the monthly fixed fee.

Users at risk of residential exclusion (RER), accredited by social services, may not suffer a disconnection of supply under any circumstances, except as provided in Article 14, and receive a 100% discount on the lower consumption bracket. The regulation refers to Law 24/2015 and provides for a social tariff, as well as the social canon of the Catalan Water Agency, which reduces the first bracket by 50%.

Sanctioning regime: from 750 to 3,000 euros

User infractions are classified as minor, serious, and very serious and are punished with the following fines:

• Minor: warning and a fine of up to 750 euros, with the obligation to normalize the situation within 15 calendar days.
• Serious: fine of up to 1,500 euros, for disregarded seals, meter tampering, fraud, or obstruction of inspectors.
• Very serious: fine of up to 3,000 euros and possible termination of the contract.

The sanctioning power corresponds to the mayor or delegated councilor, and the investigation to a municipal official. The procedure complies with Law 39/2015.

For discharges into the sewage system, the regime is more severe: minor infractions are fined up to 6,000 euros, serious ones between 6,000 and 30,000 euros, and very serious ones between 30,000 and 150,000 euros, with the possibility of suspending or revoking the discharge permit.

Non-tariff prices and drought situations

Annex 2 contains the list of non-tariff prices for water supply and sewage services, with amounts such as 1,388.01 euros for type E excavation or 234.06 euros per linear meter for type F excavation.

A single additional provision regulates situations of exceptionality and emergency due to drought: the mayor’s office may limit or prohibit the watering of orchards and gardens, street cleaning, filling of swimming pools, or vehicle washing, and establish allocation restrictions per person per day.

With this regulation, Deltebre has an updated framework for the management of an essential service: residents gain guarantees against disconnections and energy poverty, but also assume more precise duties and a sanctioning regime that can reach 3,000 euros for water supply.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Tarragona, September 18, 2026, section I, pp. 1-86 (official reference: CVE 2026-08663).