While an administrative solution is sought for the complex legal situation of over 200 homes built in the La Foya urbanization, and with the Seprona (Nature Protection Service) advancing its investigation affecting more than 40 owners who built illegally, the Vilafamés City Council is trying to provide a solution to the drinking water supply problem, a demand residents have made for years.
The reality is that many owners knew they lacked building permits or essential services when they started living in the area, as the urbanization was not developed. Nevertheless, construction continued until the current residential area was formed.
The Ombudsman (Síndic de Greuges) previously highlighted that these irregularities were partly due to inadequate functioning of the municipal administration. In a 2023 resolution, it reminded the City Council of its obligation to solve the problem and guarantee drinking water supply, an essential service to which residents are entitled.
Mayor Abel Ibáñez explains that solutions have been sought since 2015, and the most viable, given the lack of urban development, has been to establish a supply point from which potable water tanker trucks can provide water. This measure, agreed upon with the Ministry of Health, has been recently implemented.
The use of tanker trucks is voluntary, and residents must bear the cost. The mayor recalls that the Ministry of Health has recommended since 2017 not to use the water currently reaching the houses, not even for personal hygiene.
Despite the urban planning issues, the Ombudsman reiterated that drinking water supply is a mandatory responsibility of the local administration that was not being adequately fulfilled, constituting a directly enforceable legal duty.
Without the definition and execution of the urban plan, a conventional pipeline is not possible. The council is establishing the drinking water point and has contracted the transport company, but the cost of refilling domestic tanks with tanker trucks falls on the residents, in addition to their own consumption.
The mayor has confirmed that the bases for tendering the urban development through a developer are ready, a lengthy administrative process that may interest some companies. Residents will have to bear part of the urbanization cost, a price that, according to consulted sources, has hindered the regularization of this illegal situation.
The situation, now in the hands of the Seprona, exposes more than 40 owners to potential prison sentences and judicial fines.
