The price that Barcelonans pay for water will increase for the third consecutive year in 2025. The Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) will put to a vote next Tuesday the update of the tariffs for the water supply service of the Catalan capital and 22 other municipalities. Barring any last minute surprises, the increase will be 6% compared to 2024.
The proposal from the metropolitan entity, to which this newspaper had access, is based on that made by the water management company Aigües de Barcelona. For 2025, the increase is justified due to the increase in the CPI, works linked to drought, the digitalization of the system or even the fee paid for the service to the AMB.
The vote on the new rate is scheduled for next Tuesday at the Metropolitan Council of the AMB, within which the PSC has an absolute majority. What Barcelonans pay for this basic supply is only part of the water bill, which includes taxes such as waste or sewage. So it remains to be seen how this will ultimately affect the pockets of citizens.
After years of freezing rates, coinciding with most of Ada Colau’s double mandate, during her final year as mayor of the Catalan capital, the Comuns undertook a 4% increase. The controversy, however, broke out in 2023, when the water tariff increase put on the table was 25.8%.
The AMB attributed this increase to the increase in large volume supply tariffs applied by the Generalitat Aigües Ter-Llobregat, which were 33% because it had frozen prices since 2017. This ultimately resulted in by household bills (adding residuals and bills). other costs) in increases of 11.5% in the case of the Catalan capital. Or 2.5 euros on average per month.
Currently, the price of water in a city in Barcelona stands at 3.35 euros per m3, according to data collected by the Catalan Water Agency (ACA). A household that spends 15 m3 per month would receive a bill of around 50 euros per month.
The municipalities affected by the increase are all those that belong to the AMB with the exception of El Prat de Llobregat, which has its own supply. Among them are Hospitalet de Llobregat, Cornellà, Badalona, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Sant Adrià del Besòs or Sant Cugat del Vallès.
Details of the tariff increase, included in the report seen by this newspaper, underline the CPI, which is expected to increase by around 3% in Catalonia. From here, one of the main investments likely to have an impact will be the improvement of the wells of the Drinking Water Treatment Plant (ETAP) of Sant Joan Despí and Santa Coloma de Cervelló.
Another increase is that associated with the LOSS for the digitalization of the service, the RESSONA project. The price includes an expenditure of 3.4 million euros, which constitutes the unsubsidized part of the plan.
In addition to the groups that could oppose the rate update within the Metropolitan Council, what will surely intensify are complaints from environmental entities and public water management. Last year, Aigua és Vida already denounced that there should be no price increase as long as Aigües de Barcelona continues to make a profit.
