The Catalan Water Agency (ACA) has already sent sanctions to some 30 town halls for having exceeded the maximum water consumption allowed during the last few months. Some of the localities that have received these fines are Palau-saverdera (18,877 euros), Begur (about 50,000 euros), Caldes de Malavella (24,000 euros) Matadepera, Vallromanes and Sitges (these three around 50,000 euros).
The fines range from 18,877 euros in Palau-savardera to 50,000 euros in Begur, Matadepera, Vallromanes and Sitges.
In all these cases it has been the city council that has announced the sanction, since there is still room to send allegations and, therefore, the ACA will not give the list of councils fined until the sanctions are final. Palau-saverdera spent 333.98 liters per day per inhabitant during the month of September, which far exceeds the expected limit: 200 liters per person per day, since this municipality is in the emergency phase due to drought.
“Correct” the situation
In the town hall of this town in Empordà and Begur, They talk about “correcting” the situation promoting certain measures. One of them is to install Pressure regulators in the network, which would reduce water pressure and, therefore, lower consumption. They are also considering replacing the analog counters for digital ones. Another planned measure is to draft a drought ordinance, as recommended by the ACA, to come into effect in the coming months. Begur has also assured that it has implemented several measures such as fines for large consumers to resolve the situation.
These town councils call for savings and remind residents that it is prohibited water the garden, fill pools and wash vehicles outside the washing centers.
Tourist population
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The sanction has angry at the mayors from Caldes de Malavella and Sitges. In Caldes, Salvador Balliu states that the fine is “unjustified” and assures that they have done everything they can to reduce consumption. They criticize that the ACA does not take into account, as it says, the leaks and the tourist population. In Sitges, they also reproach the ACA for not having correctly counted the seasonal population.
In Vallromanas (295 liters per inhabitant per day) and Matadepera (424 l/h/d), two municipalities with numerous urbanizations, attribute their high consumption to leaks in the pipes, which cause a large part of the water that circulates through the municipality to be lost. They demand addressing the problem with the ACA to find solutions that do not involve fines. Councilor David Mascort assures that his objective is not to sanction, but to promote actions to avoid the waste of water.