Gonzanamá updates water rates with cost coverage of 25.7%

The Municipal Council of the Decentralized Autonomous Municipal Government of the Gonzanamá canton approved the substitute ordinance establishing the new tariff structure for drinking water and environmental sanitation services for the 2026-2028 period. The regulation was published in the Official Registry, Special Edition No. 1698, on Thursday, October 15, 2026, and responds to a cost coverage of only 25.7% detected in the 2024 base year.

The tariff study determined that the total costs of providing the services amounted to USD 265,541.59 in 2024, compared to effectively collected revenues of USD 68,374.97, resulting in a coverage of 25.7% and a financial gap that justified the update of the tariff scheme. Indirect costs represent approximately 7% of the total cost, below the regulatory limit, and the financial pressure originates mainly from the historical undervaluation of fixed and variable charges and from technical and commercial losses.

The ordinance is based on Regulation No. DIR-ARCA-RG-006-2017 and the consultancy contracted through Consultancy Contract No. 002-PSM-GADMCG-2025, corresponding to process CDC-GADG-2024-004. The text was approved in the first debate on September 7, 2026, and in the second debate on September 9, 2026, and sanctioned by Mayor Paulo Patricio Herrera Rojas on September 18, 2026; the council secretary July Mireya Carrión Bravo certified the process.

Technical and Regulatory Support

The Water Regulation and Control Agency reported via official letter ARCA-ARCA-2026-0432-OF, dated March 18, 2026, that the presented tariff elements comply with the technical and actuarial criteria of the current regulation. Previously, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition approved the Improvement Plan and the Efficient Water Use Program via official letter MAATE-DZ7-2025-2900-O, dated August 5, 2025, and the municipality submitted the situational report via official letter 352-A-GADMG-2025, dated July 1, 2025.

New Tariffs by Consumer Category

The approved schedule combines a monthly fixed charge and a variable charge per cubic meter, differentiated by consumption blocks:

Residential - Households: fixed charge of USD 1.33 for drinking water and USD 0.73 for sanitation; variable charges of USD 0.21, 0.30, 0.44, and 0.62 per m³.
Non-residential - Commercial: fixed charge of USD 2.35 and USD 1.31; variable charges of USD 0.67, 0.90, and 1.25 per m³.
Non-residential - Industrial: fixed charge of USD 3.91 and USD 2.18; variable charges of USD 1.34, 2.82, and 4.40 per m³.
Non-residential - Non-productive or public institution: fixed charge of USD 1.70 and USD 0.94; variable charges of USD 0.56, 0.67, and 0.81 per m³.

For the residential category, the blocks are A (up to 10 m³), B (from 10 to 25 m³), C (from 25 to 40 m³), and D (more than 40 m³); for non-residential, A (up to 25 m³), B (from 25 to 50 m³), and C (more than 50 m³). The structure incorporates solidarity factors of 1.00 residential, 1.80 commercial, 3.00 industrial, and 1.30 non-productive.

Exemptions, sanctions, and implementation deadlines

Older adults maintain a 50% exemption on consumption of up to 34 cubic meters per month per meter, and persons with a disability equal to or greater than 30% access 50% of monthly consumption according to the Organic Law on Disabilities. The ordinance does not approve a graduality plan, although it provides for the monitoring of real impacts during the first twelve months.

Suspension of service for arrears of two or more bills.
Fine of up to 50% of a unified basic salary for illicit reconnection and up to one basic salary for clandestine connection.
Billing, measurement, or category claims within eight days from the issuance of the bill.
Cadastre update in 90 days, internal regulations in 120 days, and micrometering diagnosis and non-revenue water reduction plan in 180 days.

The schedule will apply from the first billing cycle following the publication of the ordinance or, if it is published before the start of the fiscal year, from January 1, 2027. For the users of the canton, the measure implies a direct adjustment in the monthly drinking water and sewerage bills, with progressive charges according to the volume consumed and the category of the property, in a context of operating costs that are currently barely recovered by one quarter.

Source: Official Registry, Special Edition No. 1698, October 15, 2026, Municipal Ordinances, p. 2 (official reference: Special Edition No. 1698).