Renovation & construction
Drought in Catalonia and a Villa With a Pool: What to Check
The ACA list at 13.10.2026 shows no restrictions for Ter-Llobregat and reservoirs at 76.97%. But in drought phases a pool cannot be filled, even from your own well.
The list of ACA (Agència Catalana de l'Aigua) declarations on 13 October 2026 shows no restrictions in force for the Ter-Llobregat system: its reservoirs are 76,97% full (457,24 of 594,07 hm³), against 75,37% a year ago (ACA, previous-day values, not yet validated). Drought here means a period of water shortage in which the ACA introduces tiered restrictions under a six-colour traffic-light scale. For a villa with a pool, three questions remain: where the water comes from, what the local council says, and how the buyer describes this risk in the offer.
What is the drought status in Catalonia now?
The latest entry in the ACA declarations list is resolution TER/1294/2026 of 24 April 2026: the Riudecanyes unitat d'explotació (operating unit) left prealerta and returned to normal. For Ter-Llobregat the latest was resolution TER/1728/2025 of 13 May 2025 (ACA, declaracions de sequera), which, according to the ayuntamiento of El Masnou's notice, took the system out of prealerta and back to normal from 16 May 2025 (Ajuntament del Masnou).
The territory of the internal basins is divided into 18 unitats d'explotació, each with its own traffic-light colour (ACA). According to the ACA, the status is reviewed monthly and a new resolution is issued only if it changes. I could not open the interactive map (visor), so the status of a specific municipality on the date of the deal should be checked there. The figure for all the internal basins on 13.10.2026 is 74,84% (ACA portal).
What were pool owners banned from doing during the drought?
Traffic-light colours: blue, normal; green, prealerta; yellow, alerta; orange, excepcionalitat; pink, preemergència; red, emergència. The ACA summarised the pool measures in a scheme based on the Pla especial de sequera and Decret Llei 4/2024 (ACA, piscines, scheme of 26.04.2024).
| Phase | Private home pool |
|---|---|
| Alerta | Without recirculation, no filling and no topping up. A first fill is allowed for a new pool or after the basin is repaired; a pool with recirculation can be topped up if it was not emptied before the drought |
| Excepcionalitat | No filling; partial topping up only with recirculation, in the volume needed for sanitary water quality |
| Emergència | No filling and no topping up |
Two details matter to a buyer. In the ACA scheme the filling ban applies regardless of the water source: it covers your own well, rainwater and a delivered tanker. The exception is a seawater pool with no connection to the water supply or sewer networks. In addition, a municipality may impose stricter rules, and fines are set by the ayuntamiento as owner of the network. The regime is declared by the ACA and can return if shortage recurs.
What should you check when buying a villa with a pool?
| What to check | Where and with whom | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Status of the municipality's unitat d'explotació | ACA visor and declarations list | Records the phase on the date of the offer |
| Water source | Contract with the water utility, well documents | A well does not exempt you from the filling ban in drought phases |
| Municipal rules | Ayuntamiento ordenança, drought emergency plan | Local rules can be stricter |
| Legal status of the well | River basin water authority, abogado (lawyer) | Legality is proved by a document, not by the seller's word |
| Condition of the pool | Technical report | A leak or crack needs repair, and repair needs water |
| Insurance | Policy terms | Cover and exclusions related to water |
Under the water law, a landowner may use groundwater on the plot, on the conditions set by regulation, if the annual volume does not exceed 7 000 m³ (art. 54.2 TRLA, the Texto Refundido de la Ley de Aguas, consolidated water law). In aquifers declared overexploited or at risk, new works under this rule need authorisation, and private use of water outside art. 54 needs a concesión (art. 59.1). Whether a well meets these rules is for the abogado to decide from the documents.
Does drought affect the price of a villa?
I found no open data that isolates a discount for water risk in Catalan villa prices, so I give no figure. The assessment works through scenarios: what happens if the regime returns, and what an alternative water source costs.
Worked example, not a forecast. A villa at 3 M€. Buyer's assumption: a reserve of 15 000 € for a tanker or another solution in case of restrictions, which is 0,5% of the price. It is a line in the calculation and a negotiating argument, not a valuation. What such a solution actually costs will be shown by the quote for the specific plot.
Who this does not suit
Someone looking for a villa price forecast based on drought data: open sources do not have one. Someone counting on «normal» status as permanent. And someone buying a villa outside the internal basins of Catalonia: in the Catalan part of the Ebro basin the drought plan of the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro applies, not the ACA's.
Other physical risks of a plot are covered in the articles on floods and climate risks and on forest fires and riera. The general order for checking a property is in the due diligence checklist, and DNPI's residential projects are on the residential property page.
Questions and answers
Can a private pool be filled in Catalonia right now?
The ACA declarations list at 13.10.2026 shows no restrictions in force for Ter-Llobregat: the system has been in normal status since May 2025. The status of your unitat d'explotació on the date of checking should be confirmed in the ACA visor and with the ayuntamiento, because the regime can be declared again.
What is a unitat d'explotació in the drought regime?
It is one of 18 areas of the internal basins to which the ACA assigns its own traffic-light colour and its own measures. Neighbouring municipalities can be in different phases.
Does a well save the pool during a drought?
Under the ACA scheme, no: in drought phases the filling ban also covers water from your own well. The well itself is lawful if it fits art. 54.2 TRLA (up to 7 000 m³ a year) or has a concesión, and the abogado checks that against the documents.
Does drought lower the price of a villa?
There is no open statistic that separates the effect of water from other factors. The buyer builds the scenario into the calculation and discusses it with the seller on the facts of the property.
