Jerez de los Caballeros reforms the drinking water regulation.

The Plenary of the City Council of Jerez de los Caballeros initially approved, at an ordinary session held on August 3, 2026, the modification of the Regulations for the drinking water supply service of the municipality, whose full text is published in the Official Bulletin of the Province of Badajoz (bulletin no. 155, of August 14, 2026, Notice 3207/2026). The reform affects all subscribers in the municipality and is now available for public information for thirty days for the submission of allegations.

The supply service is municipally owned and may be provided directly or indirectly, but in any case it shall be governed by the new text, structured in twelve titles. The regulation orders everything from the supply contract and tariffs to connections, metering equipment, billing, attention to vulnerability, and the regime of infractions and sanctions. The file is processed in accordance with articles 49 and 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of Local Government, and article 56 of the Consolidated Text of Local Government, and is signed by the mayor, Raúl Gordillo Barroso.

A clearer contract and conditions

The regulation establishes the rights and obligations of the supply entity and subscribers and delimits responsibilities: the supplier is responsible up to the service connection check valve, while maintenance of the interior installations is the subscriber’s responsibility. It also regulates service conditions, connections, water uses, the supply contract, and the cycle of readings, consumption, and billing.

• Scheduled supply interruptions must be announced at least 24 hours in advance.
• Written complaints must be answered within a maximum period of one month.
• The supplier may require contracting or regularization of ownership from anyone who enjoys the supply without a current contract.

Protection for vulnerable consumers

For customers in a situation of economic vulnerability, the supply will not be suspended for non-payment while municipal social services notify the supply entity of that situation; if the cutoff has already occurred, water will be restored at no cost to the subscriber. The regulation also promotes the approval of social tariffs and a social fund, which would be applied, in this order, to the items of water consumption, sanitation, connections and service connections, and adaptation of the interior installation.

Fraud, infractions, and sanctions

The following are classified as fraud: clandestine consumption without a contract, direct connections to the grid, tampering with meters, bypasses made before the metering equipment, and illegal reconnection of suspended supplies, among other conducts. Once an anomaly is detected, the inspector shall seal the elements of the fraud and draw up an official report, with a period of fifteen days for allegations, and the entity may immediately cut off the clandestine bypasses. The infractions are classified into three degrees:

• Minor: fine of up to 750 euros.
• Serious: from 750.01 to 1,500 euros.
• Very serious: from 1,500.01 to 3,000 euros.

Repeat offending (two or more offenses of the same nature within two years) aggravates the classification, and it is the responsibility of the City Council to initiate and resolve sanctioning proceedings.

The file shall remain available for public inspection for thirty days from its publication, so that any interested party may examine it at the municipal offices or at the electronic headquarters of the City Council and submit claims. If no allegations are registered, the agreement shall be deemed definitively approved without the need for a new pronouncement, and the regulation shall enter into force on the day following its definitive publication in the provincial bulletin, with effect for all subscribers in Jerez de los Caballeros.

Source: Official Bulletin of the Province of Badajoz, No. 155, August 14, 2026, Local Administration (City Councils), pp. 2-37 (official reference: Notice 3207/2026).