Esgos approves drinking water ordinance with fines of up to 3,000 euros

The Esgos City Council has definitively approved the Ordinance regulating the drinking water supply service, a regulation of 76 articles that organizes the relations between the municipal service and the subscribers and establishes a regime of infractions and sanctions with fines of up to 3,000 euros. The full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Ourense on October 6, 2026, in section IV. Local Entities, with the reference R. 2.263, after the public information process closed without any allegations or claims.

The regulation, which enters into force the day following its definitive publication in the provincial gazette according to article 75, will be applicable both to contracts to be formalized and to those already existing. The Esgos City Council appears as the owner and provider of the service, although the text provides that management may be carried out through any of the forms admitted in the local regime legislation. The regulation is developed in 12 chapters covering everything from the ownership of the service and connections to billing, measuring equipment, attention to vulnerability, and the classification of fraud. The published text contains a material error in article 1, which defines the object of the regulation referring to the municipality of Bande instead of Esgos.

Mandatory remote reading and municipal-owned meters

Chapter VII imposes NB-IoT remote reading technology as the standard for all measuring equipment. The meters and remote reading systems will be considered elements attached to the municipal service and will be owned by the Esgos City Council, without any transfer or transmission between private parties being permissible.

• Single meter: for properties with a single dwelling or premises, provisional works, and industrial estates under execution.
• Battery of divisional meters: mandatory when there are several dwellings or premises, with one device for each and for common services.
• General meter: measures the totality of the consumption of the building or urbanization.
• Subtractive meter: controls the difference between the general consumption and the sum of the divisional meters.

Old buildings with meters inside the dwellings must adapt the installations or install a meter on the facade, with direct access from the public road. Reading will generally be quarterly, although subscribers with remote reading may opt for monthly billing if they accept bank direct debit and digital communications.

Sanctions of up to 3,000 euros and fraud regime

Chapter X classifies infractions as slight, serious, and very serious and sets the following fines:

• Slight infractions: up to 750 euros.
• Serious infractions: from 750.01 to 1,500 euros.
• Very serious infractions: from 1,500.01 to 3,000 euros.

Serious misconduct includes causing damage to municipal networks, altering water quality, tampering with meters or seals, reselling water, mixing water from different sources, or preventing reading for four consecutive billing periods. Recidivism —two or more infractions of the same or similar nature within two years— converts a serious offense into a very serious one. It is the responsibility of the Concello de Esgos to initiate and resolve the proceedings, processed in accordance with Law 39/2015, of October 1.

Chapter XI defines frauds and their settlements: direct connections, diversions before the meter, illegal reconnections, or equipment tampering. The settlement is calculated using a reference flow (Qref = 0.7 x [Q2 + Q3]) and three hours of daily consumption, and the inspection and correction work are borne by the user who committed the fraud.

Notices, deadlines, and protection of vulnerable subscribers

The ordinance sets specific deadlines for relations with subscribers:

• Notice of scheduled interruptions: at least 24 hours in advance.
• Response to claims and inquiries: maximum of one month.
• Effective activation of supply: six business days from contracting and payment.
• Decision on a connection request: maximum of one month.
• Allegations following a fraud report: 15 days.

Chapter IX establishes that supply will not be suspended for non-payment to customers in a situation of economic vulnerability as long as the municipal social services maintain that condition, which lasts for one year and is renewable. The Concello de Esgos will also promote social tariffs and a social fund to cover debts for consumption, sanitation, activations, or installation adjustments.

The entry into force of this ordinance provides Esgos with a single framework for an essential service and requires subscribers to adapt installations and meters to remote reading, while limiting cuts to vulnerable groups. For residents, the text clarifies who pays for what —from the registration valve to the tap— and which behaviors can end in a sanctioning proceeding.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Ourense, October 6, 2026, section IV. Local Entities (official reference: R. 2.263).