Madrid will earn 39 million more a year by raising the price of water for gardens, swimming pools and parks

The Canal de Isabel II expects to raise 39.1 million euros more per year after increasing water consumption rates for the first time in a decade, according to the regulatory decree that the Administration has published on the regional transparency portal. Although the impact of the change will be even greater in the first year, as it will skyrocket to 57.3 million, the most important public company in the Community of Madrid, along with the Metro, emphasizes that it is not seeking to improve its balance sheet, but rather to get ahead of a problem. : a future with less water and more consumers. For this reason, it is now targeting large consumers, among whom there would be chalets with gardens and swimming pools, parks or public fountains, which it considers “luxury, non-essential uses.” The rest of consumers will not notice the change, the company assures.

“In recent decades, the contributions of water from the rivers to the reservoirs that supply the Community of Madrid have been significantly reduced, while the population maintains continuous growth,” is explained in the documentation accompanying the decree. “It is necessary to significantly reduce water consumption per inhabitant in the coming years,” it is highlighted as a “key” factor to not compromise the supply in Madrid. And it is stated: “The objective of the proposed regulations does not have an economic motivation, but rather focuses on increasing and improving the progressivity of rates to achieve a combined incentive effect to reduce the consumption of less efficient users and non-efficient uses.” “essential, such as irrigation, without affecting users who make efficient and rational consumption of water resources.”

The models that have decided on the rate change have the following comparison at heart. A family home consumes 449.1 liters per day and 127.5 per inhabitant per day, while each apartment consumes 271.2 liters per day and 83.2 per resident per day. An abysmal difference that the Canal now wants to penalize to guarantee supply. The same will happen with parks and fountains.

“There is room to improve efficiency in this type of consumption, therefore, the proposed tariff modification focuses on domestic uses, assimilated to domestic, public irrigation and other uses (irrigation of green areas, fountains, solar), since all “They are either above the quantity considered optimal by the WHO, or they are luxury uses (irrigation of green areas, fountains) that may see their consumption reduced as they are not essential for human development,” it is argued in the documentation that accompanies to the decree.

“With the measures proposed in the rate structure to encourage responsible consumption, we expect a reduction in consumption of 10% in block 4, a reduction of 5% in block 3 and 2% in block 2,” he continues. And he specifies: “The additional revenue will be allocated to investment projects in infrastructure improvements, updating equipment, improving customer service and partially alleviating the increases in production costs and water services.”

An argument that does not convince everyone, as could be seen in a parliamentary debate in February. “I love the euphemisms that are used to hide what in the end is an increase in water prices for users,” Íñigo Henríquez de Luna (Vox) said ironically in the Assembly. “If there are no drought problems, why do we have to penalize water consumption?” he asked himself. and denounced: “This sounds a lot like a tax collection policy (…) Let's see if it is true that the Canal is joining the water business, losing its vocation as a public company (…) There is a financial purpose on the part of the Canal.”

This then contrasted Mariano González, CEO of the company. “The price lever is one of those that can be used to modulate consumption,” she defended. “Except for those who have a large garden, Madrid residents in block 1, domestic consumption, about 60% of the population, are not going to have any rate updates,” she explained. “Where is it going to be produced? “In those who have higher consumption, above 20 cubic meters (…) It is a selective and surgical proposal.”

At that time, the company warned that the rate changes could result in a loss of income, and recalled that the water operator in Barcelona has increased the cost of its consumption by 33%, compared to 30% in Seville, 42%. from Malaga or 8.5% from Zaragoza. A few weeks later, it is already known that the Canal's accounts are not in any danger: it will earn 39 million euros more every year, although that margin will be reduced by 2.5 when bonuses such as those that benefit large families are applied.

To this end, tariff block 1, which affects 60% of the population, according to González, will remain as it is. Block 2, however, will become 8% more expensive; block 3, 16%; and block 4, which did not exist until now, 15%. Whether a consumer belongs to one block or another depends on the volume of their consumption: from the maximum of 20 cubic meters every two months in the first, to 60 in which the fourth starts. The decree thus seeks to reduce the current limit of 167 liters/inhabitant/day in domestic consumption to 133 (34 less), arguing that the data show that real consumption is 121.22.

The last major drought in Madrid was in 2005, as González detailed in his appearance. But it is a cyclical phenomenon and the case of Catalonia serves as a warning. This region is experiencing the worst drought ever recorded, with reservoirs that do not reach 20% of their capacity, which is why consumption restrictions have been imposed on 80% of the population (six million people). However, the 13 reservoirs that the Canal has to supply more than 6.5 million Madrid residents are at 88.5% of their capacity this April. They are almost 20 percentage points more than a year ago and the best data since 2018. Without sea from which to purify water, and with the forecast that the population will skyrocket to eight million in the coming years, according to calculations by the National Institute of Statistics, Madrid is already beginning to make decisions.

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