Water Bill in Alicante to Increase in 2026: Council Approves Tariff Changes

Alicante will see an increase in water bills next year. This rise will mean a quarterly difference of approximately 0.76 euros for 40% of households and "a maximum of 1.16 euros" per quarter for 82% of subscribers.

The Alicante City Council ratified the increase in potable water and sewage service tariffs this Thursday, with the support of PP and Vox. Meanwhile, PSPV, Compromís, and EU-Podem opposed the decision, voicing their criticism during the session.

The council member from the 'popular' government team, Mari Carmen de España, provided details of this increase, describing it as a "prudent and justified review" and "well below inflation" to "maintain service quality" and "protect" families facing difficulties.

In this regard, the PP councillor stated that this update "will come into effect in 2026" and will be "moderate, responsible, and necessary" to "ensure" service provision and "committed investments."

De España indicated that regarding potable water, the increase approved on October 20 by the board of the mixed company Aguas de Alicante includes a revenue increase of 1.98%, which is "less than half of the accumulated CPI since the last review, which stands at 5.27%."

Thus, she indicated that it amounts to 975,570 euros more than the current tariff, "when applying the CPI would mean an increase of more than 2.5 million euros." In this regard, she emphasized that the adjustment "responds to the need to finance investments" included in the special plan approved by the council with 14.7 million euros for "improvement works" on the potable and regenerated water network.

Moreover, according to the PP councillor, the social fund for the most vulnerable families will be expanded by 100,000 euros. De España also defended that the increase will be "much lower than what would correspond to real costs" after achieving "better operational management."

Regarding the sewer system, she asserted that the proposal approved in December 2024 suggests a 4.9% increase, "also below the accumulated CPI for the period," and highlighted that the increase is aimed at "strengthening the sewer renewal fund, which increases from 1.97 to 3.7 million euros per year," to replace "damaged collectors" or finance the Zero Discharge project.

From Vox, which supported these points, councillor Mario Ortolá emphasized that 100,000 euros of the increase are also allocated to the social fund and stated that the left "has never managed anything private" and "has no idea what an investment is."

The socialist spokesperson in the Alicante City Council, Ana Barceló, criticized PP and Vox, stating that what citizens save from the IBI reduction will be paid in water and sewage charges, thus considering that "the pockets of Alicante residents remain the same" and "there is no real improvement."

In this vein, the PSPV councillor believes that "the company could have absorbed the increase," accusing both parties of "political trickery" and "spreading lies to the public," with a "lack of social sensitivity."

On the other hand, Compromís councillor Sara Llobell advocated that the population should not pay "a single euro more" for these bills, "considering all the increases over the years," as, in her view, they always end up being borne by "the same people," namely, "ordinary people." The coalition councillor emphasized that Aigües d'Elx "absorbs the increase and does not pass it on to citizens."

Meanwhile, the EU-Podem spokesperson in the council, Manolo Copé, justified his opposition to the increase by stating that "no pipeline or investment is at risk" due to the annual millions in profits from Aguas de Alicante.