Water canon soil assessments have been updated in three territories

The Basque Water Agency (Agencia Vasca del Agua) has approved new land valuations for the territories of Bizkaia, Araba/Álava, and Gipuzkoa, as the basis for the occupation canon of the hydraulic public domain. The resolution of June 25, 2026, signed by general director Asier López Etxebarria, was published in issue 166 of the Official Gazette of the Basque Country on September 1, 2026, with reference 2026/3759.

The resolution applies Article 112 of the Consolidated Text of the Water Law (TRLA, Legislative Royal Decree 1/2001), which distinguishes between three cases: land occupation, use of the hydraulic public domain, and the exploitation of assets. In the case of occupation, the tax base is determined according to the value of the occupied land, taking the market value as a reference.

New valuations by territory

The valuation distinguishes between two types of land, urban land and rural land, and establishes the values for each territory:

• Bizkaia: urban land 252.47 €/m² and rural land 7.91 €/m².
• Araba/Álava: urban land 187.68 €/m² and rural land 11.42 €/m².
• Gipuzkoa: urban land 277.17 €/m² and rural land 8.43 €/m².

Tax base and legal regime

The resolution states that it is necessary to use objective, homogeneous, and verifiable valuations to establish the tax base, as there are no indicative markets in many areas. The tax rate is 5%, as established by Article 287.2 of the Hydraulic Public Domain Regulations, and the canon is annual, arising when the concession or permit is first granted.

Validity and appeals

The resolution will enter into force the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country. Against this resolution, which exhausts the administrative route, an optional appeal for reconsideration may be filed before the Basque Water Agency within one month, or directly a contentious-administrative appeal within two months before the Administrative Litigation Chamber of the High Court of Justice of the Basque Autonomous Community.

The new valuations have a direct effect on all occupiers and concessionaires of the hydraulic public domain in the three historical territories, updating the calculation of the canon according to objective market references.

Source: Official Gazette of the Basque Country (Boletín Oficial del País Vasco), issue 166, September 1, 2026, OTHER PROVISIONS section, pp. 1-2 (official reference: 2026/3759).