Moncofa definitively approves the water and sewer ordinance

The Moncofa City Council has definitively approved the modification of the municipal ordinance regulating the non-tax public charge for the drinking water supply and sewerage service. The edict, signed by the mayor Wenceslao Alós Valls, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Castellón number 97, of 13 August 2026 (reference 03676-2026-U). The regulation reclassifies the rates as a non-tax charge without modifying their amounts.

The municipal plenary initially approved the modification in ordinary session on 25 June 2026, the announcement of which was published in the BOP of Castellón number 77, of 27 June 2026. During the public exhibition period, no objections were filed, so the approval is elevated to final and will not enter into force until the period indicated in Article 65.2 of Law 7/1985, regulating the Bases of Local Government, has elapsed.

The change is in response to Law 9/2017, of 8 November, on Public Sector Contracts, which introduced the figure of non-tax public charges and gave new wording, with effects from 9 March 2018, to Article 20.6 of the consolidated text of the Law regulating Local Finances (Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004) and to the first additional provision of Law 58/2003, the General Tax Law. In Moncofa the service is provided under indirect management through a concession, so the rates cease to have the nature of a fee and are now governed by a non-tax ordinance, with a mandatory report from the Prices Commission of the Generalitat and in accordance with the binding ruling of the Directorate General for Taxation V1024-19, of 9 May 2019.

A concession that expires in 2035

On 9 August 2010, the Moncofa City Council signed with Fomento Agrícola Castellonense SA the contract for the management of the public service of household drinking water supply and wastewater sanitation. The contract has a duration of twenty-five years, so it remains in force until 2035.

The water rates in force are those approved by the plenary on 5 December 2013 and published on 24 January 2014. The sewerage service was governed by the Fiscal Ordinance regulating the fee for the provision of the service, published in BOP number 4, of 10 January 2006, as amended by plenary agreements of 27 November 2008 and 23 August 2025. The new ordinance repeals all rules of equal or lower rank that conflict with its content.

Amounts that remain unchanged

The ordinance expressly states that the rate amounts are not changed: the amounts approved in 2013 and published on 24 January 2014 remain in force until the entry into force of the rate revision agreed at the plenary session of 24 February 2022. The rates revised in accordance with the concession specifications were updated at the plenary session of 30 April 2026 and are set out in Article 6.

The regulated fees are:

• Service fee: fixed amount per home or premises for the availability of the service.
• Maintenance fee: fixed quarterly fee for the maintenance and replacement of meters.
• Water consumption fee: periodic amount based on actual consumption.
• Capacity rate fee: for subscribers without a meter, regardless of consumption.
• Connection fees: single payment upon formalisation of the contract.

For sewerage, the service fee is €5.69 per quarter and connection fees amount to €107.31. Supplies exclusively for fire-fighting installations pay 30% of the service fee, and campsites Los Naranjos and Monmar enjoy a 50% reduction on the consumption fee.

Management, billing and entry into force

The management and settlement of the service shall be carried out in accordance with the concession contract, and billing shall generally be quarterly, except for large consumers, for whom it may be monthly. The fee shall be subject to the prevailing VAT and the concessionaire entity may suspend supply in the cases provided for in the applicable regulations.

The ordinance shall enter into force once its final approval is published in the BOP and the period referred to in Article 65.2 of the LRBRL has elapsed, and shall remain in force until its express amendment or repeal. The review of rates shall be carried out under the terms of the contract and of Decree 68/2013, of 7 June, of the Consell, which regulates the price authorisation procedures.

The regulation affects all households and premises subscribed to the Moncofa service: their bills keep the same amounts, but their legal nature changes from a fee (tax) to a non-tax public charge, under the control of the Price Commission of the Generalitat. Until 2035, when the concession to Fomento Agrícola Castellonense SA expires, rates may only be updated through the channels provided for in the contract and regional regulations.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Castellón, number 97, of 13 August 2026, Local Administration Section / City Councils (official reference: 03676-2026-U).