29 Nov 2019 11:52:
More questions I’m afraid relating to properties currently dependant on well water in Spain....
Are ALL individuals currently dependant on well water now at risk of major increases going forward?
Are potential purchasers NOW being adequately forewarned in the legal conveyancing process? Are they being made aware of the financial risks and recent shifts in apportioning increased utility costs ( quotas according to square meterage).?
Is there any regulatory structure in place in Spain with regard to utility companies, to ensure that consumers are protected from unfair offloading of their future infrastructure costs? Are these utility companies making fair apportionment of costs across the country to spread the load associated with bringing their infrastructure up to modern day standards ? Or are owners currently dependant on well water being individually targeted in this process going forward?
And then there is the issue of illegal use of water and administrative negligence..
In a report back in 2006 the following was identified....
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/illegal_water_use_in_spain_may06.pdf
“According to the Spanish Ministry for the Environment, there are 510,000 illegal wells in Spain1. This figure implies that at least 3,600 hm3 of groundwater is extracted illegally each year, which equals the average water consumption of 58 million people. This probably underestimated volume, is in contrast with the volume that is legally extracted, which is estimated at 4,500 hm3/year2. This means that at least 45% of all water pumped from aquifers each year is extracted without regard to legal constraints. “
In this context, the Administration – at national, regional and local levels – is responsible too, as it is unable, and in some cases unwilling to tackle illegal water abstraction via political measures.
In particular, River Basin Authorities (which report to the Ministry for the Environment and the Autonomous Communities) are responsible for this situation, as they have been:
1. Negligent in monitoring users and enforcing the Law, either because the administrative proceedings are too complex, or because they lack the means or they are unwilling to intervene.
2. Slow in dealing with proceedings for registration and concession of new water licences, which makes it difficult to detect illegal users and pushes some people to drill wells before getting a reply from the Administration.
Illegal water abstraction is destined for land uses which are regulated and controlled by the Autonomous Communities. Therefore, these, directly or indirectly, contribute to the illegal use of this resource, in the following ways:
1. Political pressure from the Autonomous Communities over the River Basin Authorities in order to avoid confrontations with powerful financial and social groups that benefit from illegal water use.
2. Insufficient control and prosecution of farmland transformations (dry land being turned into irrigated land) on the part of Autonomous Communities, who have jurisdiction over land use.
3. Agricultural policies that do not discourage illegal water use. At present, agricultural subsidies are being granted through Autonomous Communities without checking that the irrigation is done with licensed abstractions.
4. Non-sustainable urban developments promoted and/or tolerated by some Autonomous Communities that do not take into account the actual volume of water available in the region and favour the search for unauthorised water sources.
Users authorized to abstract water, either for lack of information, for fear, or for some kind of solidarity, have rarely taken action to oppose the proliferation of illegal water uses:
1. The users themselves do not participate in the water management process, this results in lack of awareness on their part, which is an obstacle to the rational and sustainable use of this resource. As a consequence, illegal water abstractions are not reported, even though these damage legal users’ rights.
2. The users have not had enough training on the efficient use of the available resources, as a result of which even authorised users look for new resources – illegally.”
And more recently the EU have expressed grave concerns.
https://elpais.com/elpais/2016/07/14/inenglish/1468483302_002625.html
The question then remains are individual consumers now being made the scapegoats to fund the costs associated with illegal use of water that have arisen as a consequence of many years of administrative negligence?
I wonder how many will be affected by unforeseen increases in their utility bills and community charges as a consequence of reapportioning charges( quotas) according to square meterage of their properties? How many will be financially compromised if these increases turn out to be large scale increases going forward?
Thread:
Extraordinary Quotas for Future Expenses for Spanish Communities
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