Volker Horch: It depends. For a property in La Palma, there are essentially two options for the supply of drinking water: through the public network and through private networks. In addition, there are several options for irrigation water, although in most cases this also comes from either the public or private network.
Volker Horch: Public water is supplied by the local municipality and is billed according to consumption. There is an initial basic tariff, and the billing distinguishes between domestic water (with a lower base tariff but higher consumption levels) and industrial water (where the opposite applies).
Volker Horch: Technically, irrigation water may only be billed as industrial water, although in practice this rule is often not strictly observed.
Volker Horch: The public water supply is potable, chlorinated and delivered at relatively high pressure. However, the municipality requires users to install an intermediate water tank (cistern) in order to compensate for occasional temporary shortages in supply.
Volker Horch: The second option, as mentioned earlier, is supply through a private water network. Rights to private water networks are traded in the form of shares (participaciones), which can also be rented. Owning a water share means receiving a fixed and continuous amount of water per unit of time (for example, one litre per minute). In addition to the share itself, you also need the right to use the pipelines. In La Palma these rights are commonly known as "pases". In most cases, pipelines already run close to a property. These pipelines may be divided into several sections belonging to different so-called water communities. To transport water through these pipelines, "pases" must be obtained from each of these communities.
Volker Horch: Generally, there is no need to worry. Apartments almost always have access to the municipality's public water network.
