Fígols approves the definitive regulation of the municipal water supply service

The Fígols City Council has finalized the Regulations for the municipal water supply service, after the public information period elapsed without any claims. The text had been initially approved by agreement of the Plenary on September 21, 2025, and is published in full in the Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona (BOPB) on October 28, 2026, with the official reference CVE 202610157956 and a length of 59 pages. The regulation comes into force the day following its publication.

The regulation establishes the framework of relations between the three parties of the service: the owning entity, the managing entity, and the water recipient. According to the statement of reasons, the objective is to adapt the municipal regulation to recent regulatory changes and provide legal certainty to all parties, based on principles of necessity, efficiency, proportionality, and transparency. The text is based on Law 7/1985 regulating the bases of the local regime, Legislative Decree 2/2003 on the local regime of Catalonia, Legislative Decree 3/2003 regarding water, and Royal Decree 3/2023 on the quality of water for human consumption.

Universal access and protection against energy poverty

Article 4 recognizes that all persons have the right to the domestic supply indispensable to guarantee life in conditions of dignity, and that any natural or legal person who requests it may access the service provided they meet the conditions of the regulation. The Fígols City Council explicitly assumes the functions of ensuring universal access, guaranteeing the installation of meters, and approving master plans and investments.

The text incorporates the provisions of Law 24/2015 on energy poverty for users at risk of residential exclusion (RER), who must prove their situation with a social services report:

• Right to continue receiving the service without supply cuts under any circumstances.
• 100% discount on consumption in the lower bracket, with the remaining amount charged to the service’s solidarity fund.
• Initial RER qualification for twelve months, extendable by social services.
• Income threshold lower than three times the IRSC and a social report if it exceeds 1.5 times the IRSC.

Supply cuts with two notices and guaranteed deadlines

For domestic recipients with non-payment, the managing entity cannot suspend the service without first verifying vulnerability. The procedure requires a first formal communication, with a period of no less than 20 calendar days to rectify the situation, and a simultaneous communication to the Fígols City Council, which must respond within 20 calendar days as to whether the user is in an RER situation. If there is no municipal response, a second communication is required and, after 15 calendar days, the manager is authorized to suspend the supply unless they receive an express resolution to the contrary.

In all other cases, the prior notice is 20 calendar days and the suspension requires municipal authorization obtained through this procedure. The management company may seal or disable installations without prior approval only in cases of force majeure, danger to people, material assets, or the environment.

Sanctions of up to 3,000 euros

The sanctioning regime classifies infractions as minor, serious, and very serious. The mayor or the councillor to whom it is delegated is the competent body to initiate the proceedings and impose the sanctions, with the instruction carried out by a municipal official and subject to Law 39/2015.

• Minor infractions: warning and obligation to normalize the situation within 15 calendar days, with a fine of up to 750 euros.
• Serious infractions: fine of up to 1,500 euros (tampering with meters, not respecting seals, or hindering inspection).
• Very serious infractions: fine of up to 3,000 euros, with the possibility of contract termination.
• Recurrence of three serious infractions in one year: classified as very serious.

The regulation establishes that a situation of severe poverty and exclusion will determine the non-imposition of sanctions on vulnerable people who have obtained this qualification through social services.

Water saving and new uses

Title seven imposes saving measures: new buildings with unpaved spaces of more than 300 square meters must collect rainwater, swimming pools with a surface area exceeding 250 square meters must collect excess water, and the irrigation of gardens with potable water is limited to 3,500 cubic meters per hectare per year. Newly constructed buildings must have a greywater reuse system to fill cisterns. An additional provision regulates drought situations, granting the mayor’s office the power to prohibit or limit uses and impose sanctions of up to 3,000 euros.

The text is signed by the mayor Otger Calduch Márquez in Fígols, on October 22, 2026, and a contentious-administrative appeal may be filed against the agreement before the High Court of Justice of Catalonia within a period of two months.

The regulation replaces the previous dispersed regulation and makes a single framework enforceable for all users of the municipality, from contracting and the meter to disconnection and sanction.

Fuente: Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona (BOPB), October 28, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 1-59 (official reference: CVE 202610157956).