AEOPAS, the Spanish association of public water operators, has called for a revision of the Spanish legal framework on water
In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognised access to drinking water and sanitation as a fundamental human right in its resolution A/RES/64/292. In 2013, the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) Right2Water asked the European Commission to propose legislation implementing the human right to water and sanitation, as recognised by the United Nations.
On the Spanish level, our member AEOPAS supported the ECI. AEOPAS now requests the recognition and implementation of the human right to water, as explained in an article published on its website, where it asks for a revision of the Spanish legal framework on water, aiming at modifying the Spanish law towards the recognition of the right to water, the creation of a Spanish water regulator and the elimination of the so-called “canon del agua”, through which municipalities recover part of the profits made by the private operator and which thus favours the privatisation of water services.
These requests are in line with the bill that, last 20 of April, AEOPAS contributed to draft, following a request from the Spanish “Ciudadanos” parliamentary group, which was presented to the Spanish Parliament.