OVFC’S CALL FOR A WATER-SAVING ORDINANCE

Number of swimming pools in Benitatxell

Benitatxell is, after El Ràfol d'Almúnia, the municipality in the Marina Alta with the highest number of swimming pools per inhabitant (ratio 0.42). In 2025, the number of swimming pools in our municipality according to land registry statistics stood at 1.983, that is to say, 155 swimming pools per square kilometre or 42 swimming pools per 100 inhabitants.

The Marina Alta stands out for having one of the highest concentrations of swimming pools in Spain, with almost 38,000 registered pools, which works out at an average of one pool for every five inhabitants. 

Water shortage, a chronology of an unresolved problem:

• June 2014: Xàbia supplements the supply to Teulada and Benitatxell
• July 2015: A disruption to the water supply from the Javea desalination plant is reported
• July 2015: Plans announced to find internal resources to resolve the water problem
• September 2016: The Teulada-El Poble Nou de Benitatxell Water Consortium has awarded a contract worth €880,000 to increase water resources.
• September 2018: Teulada and Benitatxell begin work to expand the capacity of their desalination plants and secure the water supply for the next ten years
• August 2019: Benitatxell and Teulada have secured their water supply by purchasing water from the Xàbia desalination plant
• August 2024: The water is declared unfit for drinking

Our region is periodically hit by periods of drought. In August 2024, the local council was forced to declare the water unfit for drinking due to excessive salt levels caused by seawater intrusion and the salinisation of its main aquifer; as a result, it was unsuitable for consumption, and the only permitted uses were for cleaning and personal hygiene.

In addition to measures to ensure water supply and quality, we urge the Council to adopt a water-saving ordinance and to publish water quality test results on a regular basis. We must express our discontent that the sodium levels in drinking water are once again a cause for concern this year and are already higher than they were in April 2024.

Some local councils with a water-saving ordinance already in place:

• Collado Villalba
• Santa Eulària des Riu
• Eskoriatza
• Almonte
• Madrid
• Talavera de la Reina
• Torrelodones
• Sant Josep de sa Talaia
• Benalmádena
• Zaragoza
• Oliva de Plasencia 

Common features of the regulatory ordinances in force in the aforementioned councils:

• Establishing a Municipal Swimming Pool Register: Require all pool owners to submit a sworn statement detailing the pool’s specifications, dimensions (length, width, depth, capacity) and date of installation.
• Separate water meters: Installation of water meters for the swimming pool to monitor water usage. In the event of a severe drought, the water supply to the swimming pool could be cut off, whilst the water supply to the house would be maintained for use in the kitchen and bathroom.

• Restrictions on refilling: The refilling of private swimming pools (both private and communal) should be limited to the minimum quantities necessary to maintain the water’s sanitary quality, provided they are equipped with recirculation systems.
• Restrict the draining of swimming pools: from May to October.
• Mandatory recirculation systems: Refilling is only permitted in swimming pools equipped with filtration systems; the use of drinking water is prohibited in swimming pools without such systems.
• Time restrictions: imposed by ordinances or drought decrees, with a time limit.
• Consumption limits: set consumption caps, with a proposed limit of 150 cubic metres per quarter for domestic users and 22.5 cubic metres per bed for tourist establishments.
• Inspections and Monitoring: surveillance must be stepped up.
• Fines: ranging from €750 (minor offences) to €3,000 (serious offences)
• Serious offences:
• Filling a swimming pool or draining it into the mains without authorisation
• Filling a swimming pool for a second time without municipal authorisation.
• In cases where a specific water meter has not been installed for the swimming pool, refilling shall be deemed to have taken place when the increase in water consumption recorded on the meter reading of a building with a swimming pool is equivalent to or greater than a quarter of the swimming pool’s water capacity. The same benchmark shall be used in cases where a separate meter is present.
• It is also considered a serious offence to empty swimming pools into the sewage or stormwater drainage system without prior municipal authorisation
• Failure to register the swimming pool within the period specified in the local ordinances.

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