The drinking water rate will rise by 2.9% in 2026 (about €0.40 per month) in the 23 municipalities of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) supplied by the public-private company Aigües de Barcelona. In the other six municipalities, where the service depends on different operators (Cervelo, Corbera de Llobregat, Palma de Cervelo, Ripolet, Sant Andreu de la Barca and Tiana), the increase will be even greater: 5.8%. This increase comes in response to the rising cost of water and new investments allocated to confront new droughts. Social rates and consumption blocks are maintained.
The increase, in absolute terms, represents 0.40 euros per month (0.80 in the semi-monthly bill) per family unit, or about 6 cubic meters per month, in a house with two people that consumes 10 liters per resident. The Reserve Bank of Australia, which approved the new rates at the Metropolitan Council in November, considers the increase “moderate” and puts it in line with inflation expectations. He attributes this increase to the almost 7% increase in prices for high-pressure water purchased from Aigües Ter-Llobregat (a public company of the state), an agreement reached at the end of July, in the middle of summer, to the strengthening of the investment fund for drought-related works, amounting to 8 million euros, and to the impact of inflation.
Other tariff conditions remain unchanged: consumption blocks continue to be adjusted according to the number of cohabitants and social pricing that exempts payment for the service and the first two sections. AMB expects that by the end of 2026, about 70,000 households will be covered in this way.
The increase in the price of the water bill in 2026 is in addition to what has happened in recent years, after a period of contention during the presidency of Ada Colau at AMB, which emerged due to the judicial and administrative confrontation that she fought with Agbar (the main shareholder of Aguas de Barcelona) to obtain the municipal service, which she lost. This year the rate rose by €1.5 per fortnightly bill, after a 5.95% increase was approved. The reasons were the same as those given for scheduling the increase this year. A year ago, the increase was 11.5%. This increase is mainly due to ATL previously agreeing to a 30% increase in the selling price of water.
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