Espejo makes the agricultural and livestock water rate permanent

The Espejo City Council has finalized the Regulatory Ordinance for the fee for water supply from municipal water tanks for agricultural and livestock use, as no claims were filed during the public exhibition period. The regulation, which sets a card fee of 50.00 euros and a cost of 0.5 euros per minute, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Córdoba number 173, dated September 7, 2026, pages 12882 to 12886, with reference BOP-A-2026-3037.

Final approval occurs automatically after the 30 business days of public exhibition pass without allegations, counted from the initial publication in BOP number 125, dated July 1, 2026. The provisional plenary agreement dates from June 25, 2026, and the full text is made public in compliance with article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the Bases of the Local Regime. The announcement appears signed by the mayor-president, Florentino Santos Santos, dated September 1, 2026.

Legal Framework and Taxable Event

The ordinance is based on the powers of articles 133.2 and 142 of the Constitution, article 106 of Law 7/1985, and article 20 in relation to articles 15 to 19 of the Recast Text of the Law regulating Local Treasuries, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004, of March 5. The taxable event is the provision of the water supply service in municipal tanks, as well as those that may be built in the future, for exclusively agricultural and livestock use.

Beneficiaries shall be the users who utilize the service, provided they are owners, usufructuaries, or tenants registered in the municipality of Espejo, whether or not their estates are within the municipal boundary, as well as other holders of estates located within the boundary.

Rate and Consumption Limits

The applicable rate is structured into two concepts:

• Card acquisition: 50.00 euros.
• Amount per minute of service: 0.5 euros/minute, with annual renewal.

Only one card per holder will be permitted, and one estate cannot be the subject of more than one supply. In case of loss or theft of the card-token, the existing one will be canceled and a new one must be acquired. The maximum time granted will be 12 minutes per hectare per year for farmers and 60 minutes per year per operation for livestock breeders, with an estimated extraction of approximately 500 liters per minute in the most unfavorable case.

Sanctioning Regime

The ordinance classifies infractions as minor, serious, and very serious, with the following sanctions:

• Minor: fine of up to 300 euros.
• Serious: fine from 301 to 600 euros and loss of use for one year.
• Very serious: fine from 601 to 1,000 euros and loss of the right to use for one year.

Among the typified conducts are the resale of water, the misuse of facilities, the mixing of phytosanitary products at loading points, the washing of vehicles or implements at said points, and the duplication of requests. The Mayor’s Office of Espejo shall be the competent body to initiate and resolve the sanctioning proceedings. Minor infractions prescribe in six months, serious ones in two years, and very serious ones in three years.

Entry into force and appeals

The service will operate 24 hours a day uninterrupted, although the City Council may restrict or suppress the supply in situations of water shortage or scarcity, without this generating a right to compensation. The ordinance will enter into force and begin to be applied from the day following its full publication in the Official Gazette of the Province. An administrative-law appeal may be filed against the agreement before the Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia within two months, in accordance with Article 46 of Law 29/1998, of July 13.

The measure directly affects the farmers and livestock breeders of Espejo, who must regularize their access to water from municipal tanks via card and pay the fee per minute consumed. With this ordinance, the municipality organizes an essential resource and provides a clear sanctioning framework to guarantee its responsible use, in a context of special sensitivity due to water scarcity.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Córdoba, no. 173, September 7, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 12882-12886 (official reference: BOP-A-2026-3037).