Os Blancos sets new water, sanitation, and purification rates

The City Council of Os Blancos has finalized the modification of the fiscal ordinance regulating the fees for drinking water supply, sanitation, and wastewater treatment, after no claims were submitted during the public exhibition period. The announcement, signed by Mayor José Manuel Castro Blanco on September 24, 2026, publishes the full text of the regulation in the Official Gazette of the Province of Ourense on November 4, 2026, in section IV of Local Entities. The ordinance is already in effect and establishes the new amounts that will apply to all water cycle bills in the municipality.

Finalization and legal framework

The provisional plenary agreement was automatically elevated to final status in application of article 17.4 of the recast text of the Law regulating local finances, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004, of March 5. Thus, the text was published for general knowledge once the public information process was exhausted without neighbor allegations.

The regulation is based on municipal competence under articles 25.1.c) and 26.1.a) of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the bases of the local regime, and articles 15 to 19 of the aforementioned Local Finance Law, in addition to articles 81 and 296 of Law 5/1997, of July 22, of the Local Administration of Galicia. The local government justifies the configuration as a fee—and not as a public price—because these are essential public services provided directly by the council.

Entry into force occurs on the first day following the full publication in the provincial gazette, provided that the requirements of the local regime and local finance legislation are met. The schedule for each fee will be published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Ourense and on the municipal electronic office, and collection will take place every three months along with the rest of the hydraulic cycle bills.

Drinking water supply

The drinking water supply fee is structured in a binomial formula: a fixed part for the availability of the service and a variable part according to the actual consumption measured by the meter. The approved table is as follows:

• Fixed amount: €2.00/month.
• Tier 1, from 0 to 6 m³/month: €0.20/m³.
• Tier 2, from more than 6 up to 12 m³/month: €0.40/m³.
• Tier 3, from more than 12 up to 24 m³/month: €0.80/m³.
• More than 24 m³/month: €1.60/m³.
• Conservation and maintenance of meters: €0.60/month.
• Installation and replacement of meters: €100.00/unit.

The text explains that the fixed amount covers approximately 50% of the fixed cost of the service, in order to guarantee universal access to vital consumption, while the other 50% is shifted to the variable part as a measure to promote responsible consumption. The meter fee is monthly, while the installation and replacement fee is a one-time charge.

Sanitation and treatment

The sanitation fee is fixed at a single rate of €0.50 per subscriber per month, intended to cover the maintenance costs of the evacuation network. For its part, the purification fee distinguishes between users who are or are not subscribed to the municipal drinking water service:

• Subscribed users, fixed amount: €0.53/month.
• Bracket 1, from 0 to 6 m³/month: €0.10/m³.
• Bracket 2, from more than 6 to 12 m³/month: €0.15/m³.
• Bracket 3, from more than 12 to 24 m³/month: €0.30/m³.
• More than 24 m³/month: €0.60/m³.
• Users not subscribed to the drinking water network: €2.60.

Both fees are mandatory for all properties with facades facing public roads where a supply network exists and whose distance to it does not exceed one hundred meters, even if the interested parties do not make the connection. No exemptions or bonuses are established for their collection.

Tax period, payment, and appeal

The tax period coincides with the calendar quarter, and cancellations or changes of ownership occurring within it take effect in the following quarter. The fees will be claimed on the date of registration in the service and on the first day of each month in subsequent months, and will be settled and collected within the same periods together with the water supply bills. When it is not possible to read the meter due to closed access for two consecutive quarters, an individual notification will be issued with a warning of supply disconnection.

Against the agreement, in accordance with Article 19 of the consolidated text of the Law regulating local treasuries, a contentious-administrative appeal may be filed before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Galicia within a period of two months counting from the day following the publication of the announcement, according to Article 46 of Law 29/1998, of July 13.

The new tariff structure directly affects the bills of all families and premises in the municipality, who will see an increase in the fixed portion regardless of consumption and will pay more for each cubic meter as expenditure increases, with a progressivity that especially penalizes consumption above 24 m³ per month.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Ourense, November 4, 2026, section IV. Local Entities (official reference: R. 2.326).