Manilva Town Hall will hold an extraordinary council meeting this Wednesday 25 March at 09:30 in the municipal Council Chamber, with several items of economic, urban planning and basic services significance that will shape the municipality’s political agenda in the coming months. The agenda contains six main items, including the approval of the 2026 municipal budget, major urban planning operations and, in particular, a plan to improve the water supply and sewerage service, an issue that has been generating political debate and concern among residents over a possible rise in the water bill, despite the amount of water stored after the rains of recent months, which have kept the Concepción reservoir at its maximum level.
This matter comes to the council meeting after the recent meeting of the so-called Water Board (Mesa del Agua), where the governing team, together with municipal technicians and the concessionaire Hidralia, made progress on the work needed to complete the ten-year extension of the contract, initially approved in December 2024.
The measures discussed include updating the inventory of municipal infrastructure (reservoirs, pipe networks, pumping stations and water treatment systems), as well as an investment plan to modernise the network.
However, the process is not without controversy. The PSOE already warned at the time that extending the contract could mean a rise of more than 70% in the water bill for Manilva residents, an issue that is expected to be raised again during the debate at the council meeting.
Meanwhile, the stance of the councillors who joined the governing team for Izquierda Unida has caused controversy, as they previously defended public management of the water service through Acosol but ultimately backed the continuation of the private model with Hidralia.
Another of the key items will be file 3/2026, concerning the sale of plot 35 in Bahía de las Rocas . This urban planning operation could bring revenue to the municipal coffers if a sale is achieved (so far it has not been), but the 2026 budget being put forward for approval at the same council meeting already includes it under income, even though the plot has not officially been sold.
The council meeting will also debate the approval of the 2026 municipal budget (file 10830/2025), one of the most important decisions each year, as it sets out investments, current spending and the Town Hall’s economic roadmap .
The agenda is completed by several administrative and financial items, such as two files on out-of-court recognition of debts (1/2026 and 2/2026), commonly used to regularise payments outstanding from previous financial years, and a rebate on the ICIO (Tax on Construction, Installations and Works) for a local resident.
The extraordinary session comes at a delicate time for the governing team, following the eviction of the 62 families on calle Sarmiento, which this morning led the affected residents to voice their complaints at the very door of the Town Hall over the lack of a housing «commitment» for the days after the eviction.
The debate on the water management model is expected to be particularly intense, with completely opposing positions and many doubts still to be resolved about the real impact the decisions taken will have on the cost of the service for residents.
