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Facing the Challenges of Water Governance pp 29–55Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Spain

Water Governance in Spain: The Role of Federalism and Public-Private Partnerships

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Abstract

This research provides a broad picture of water sector governance in Spain, a country dealing with serious water stress and quality problems. Moreover, a decentralized structure of regional and local governments supports the design and development of water policies. In this context, governance emerges as a key issue to improve water resources allocation. Several key policies and institutional features have been described, with a special attention to economic instruments and the role of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). Definitively, greater efforts in the policy-making and coordination processes are needed in the Spanish water sector.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For example, the majority of irrigation water users’ associations face prices based on land surface. Water tariff usually consists of a fixed amount per hectare. These pricing structures are intrinsically linked to overconsumption and efficiency losses. Additionally, some urban water tariffs include free allowances. A free allowance is a minimum water consumption that is charged at zero marginal price. Usually, when the user pays the fixed charge, he/she gets the right to consume a basic amount of water. The use of free allowances has been criticized because they lead to significant efficiency losses. In general, it has been proven that this kind of elements provides strong incentives to water overuse, being against water conservation (Castro et al. 2002), and not very equitable (OECD 2003).

  2. 2.

    In 2007 Andalusia gained exclusive responsibilities on the Guadalquivir water bodies that flowed through its territories and did not affect another autonomous community (Junta de Andalucía 2007). A combination of different factors, such as the high weight of Andalusia in the basin (this region covers the most part of the Guadalquivir River Basin area), the fact that other communities were downstream, and some political alignments in that period, led to make that decision. However, the remaining regions submitted claims to the Court, and finally in 2011, responsibilities fell back to the central government (Thiel 2015).

  3. 3.

    In Basque Country, a minimum water consumption of 130 litres per person and day is established, but no fixed charge is set.

  4. 4.

    For instance, Catalonia considers the population size in the calculation of final tax bill, assuming that higher water pressure and pollution levels are generated in bigger municipalities.

  5. 5.

    Law 7/1985 on the Regulation of Local Government Terms and Conditions and Law 57/2003 on Local Government Modernization Measures and the Royal Decree 2/2000 establish the legal regimen related to the provision of municipal services.

  6. 6.

    Public companies are a usual scheme to provide public services in Spain. On the one hand, they provide more flexibility than in-house provision. On the other hand, many sub-central governments have decided to set public companies to provide public services as a strategy to elude the legal constraints on public deficit and debt (Fernandez-Llera and García-Valiñas 2013).

  7. 7.

    According to González-Gómez et al. (2014) and based on FEMP (2012), 325 associations of municipalities provide wholesale of retail water services in Spain. Private companies are also looking for the optimal provision size, since they design growth strategies to provide the service to a group of municipalities close to each other.

  8. 8.

    The Spanish Association of Water Supply and Sanitation (AEAS) is a private organization carrying out periodic surveys on water services and pricing in Spain. Nowadays, it is the only source from which it is possible to get statistical information on PPPs in Spain, since no official institution is collecting such information. However, these surveys are not census, since they represent approximately 40% of the population and 88% of the municipalities (González-Gómez et al. 2014).

  9. 9.

    Acciona, Valoriza, Gestagua, Aguas de Valencia, FACSA, Agua & Gestión, PRODAISA, Espina & Delfín, and Hidrogestión are examples of minor companies (at the national level) operating in the Spanish water sector (González-Gómez et al. 2014).

  10. 10.

    Contracts’ length is nowadays under discussion. Spanish parliament is currently debating a draft law to implement the transposition of some European Directives related to public contracts (2014/23/UE; 2014/24/UE; 2014/25/UE) into national law. According to the European regulation, contracts could not be longer than five years, and only extensions would be accepted if these are justified by new investments. Further information on the draft bill could be checked at http://transparencia.gob.es.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oviedo Efficiency Group, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain

    María A. García-Valiñas

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  1. María A. García-Valiñas
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Correspondence to María A. García-Valiñas .

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  1. IAE Paris - Sorbonne Business School, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France

    Simon Porcher

  2. IAE Paris - Sorbonne Business School, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France

    Stéphane Saussier

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García-Valiñas, M.A. (2019). Spain. In: Porcher, S., Saussier, S. (eds) Facing the Challenges of Water Governance. Palgrave Studies in Water Governance: Policy and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98515-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98515-2_2

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