Shared Aquifers 2026: What Companies and Farmers Must Do

Key data

Farmers, industrial companies and groundwater user communities in Spain face new coordination obligations following the approval of the official catalog of aquifers shared between hydrographic demarcations. The Agreement of the Council of Ministers of March 3, 2026, published through Resolution of the State Secretariat for the Environment on April 15, 2026, establishes this instrument with effects from March 30, 2026.

The impact is immediate: if your company, agricultural operation or user community operates on an aquifer now declared as shared, the procedures for concession, renewal and water intake change. Coordination between basin organizations becomes mandatory, not optional.

What does this regulation establish?

The catalog officially identifies groundwater aquifers that extend under the territory of two or more hydrographic demarcations in Spain. Until now, the management of these aquifers could be done independently by each basin organization. With this catalog, that management becomes necessarily coordinated.

The obligations generated by the catalog are of two types:

• For basin organizations: they must collaborate in hydrological planning and in the adoption of joint protection measures on aquifers cataloged as shared.
• For private users and user communities: they must adapt their operations to the coordinated plans derived from the catalog. New concessions and renewals in areas declared as shared incorporate additional inter-administrative coordination requirements.

The catalog is the starting point: from it, specific coordinated plans will be developed for each shared aquifer. This means that the specific obligations for each user will depend on the aquifer in which they operate and on the plans that the basin organizations develop.

Economic and operational impact

The catalog does not establish direct fees or economic sanctions, but it does generate operational and compliance costs that should be anticipated:

• Extension of timelines in concessions and renewals: Mandatory inter-administrative coordination between basin organizations adds steps to the procedure. Companies and farmers who process new concessions or renew existing ones in shared aquifer areas must anticipate longer timelines.
• Adaptation of operations to coordinated plans: Holders of groundwater uses will have to adjust their extractions, uses and protection measures to what the coordinated plans establish. This may involve flow limitations, new monitoring obligations or use restrictions.
• Cost of advisory and administrative management: Coordination between demarcations adds legal and administrative complexity. Companies with water intakes in these areas will need active monitoring of the plans that are approved.
• Risk of project paralysis: Agricultural, industrial or urban projects that depend on water intakes in shared aquifers may be conditioned until the basin organizations approve the corresponding coordinated plans.

Who does it affect?

• Basin organizations: obliged to establish mechanisms for joint collaboration and planning for cataloged aquifers.
• Groundwater user communities: must adapt their bylaws and operations to the coordinated plans derived from the catalog.
• Farmers with groundwater intakes: especially those operating in border areas between demarcations, where the probability that the aquifer is cataloged as shared is higher.
• Industrial companies with their own intakes: agribusiness, chemical, mining industries or any sector that uses groundwater as a productive resource.
• Urban entities and municipalities: urban water supplies that depend on groundwater aquifers in shared areas.
• Promoters of new projects: any promoter planning to request a new groundwater concession in an area that may be affected by the catalog.

Practical example

A horticultural company in southeastern Spain operates with a groundwater concession whose aquifer extends between two hydrographic demarcations. Until now, its administrative relationship was exclusively with the basin organization of its demarcation.

With the catalog in force, that aquifer is declared shared. When the company requests the renewal of its concession, the basin organization must coordinate the resolution with the organization of the neighboring demarcation. This may involve:

• An additional report from the second basin organization before resolving the renewal.
• Extraction conditions that take into account the total use of the aquifer in both demarcations, not just in its own.
• The obligation to adapt the extraction volume to what the coordinated plan that both organizations must approve establishes.

The practical result: more processing time and possible adjustments in the granted flow rates. The company must anticipate this situation before planning irrigation campaigns or investments in water intake infrastructure.

What should companies do now?

1. Identify whether the aquifer you depend on is cataloged as shared. Contact the corresponding basin organization or consult the documentation of the Agreement of the Council of Ministers of March 3, 2026 to verify whether your water intake area is included.
2. Review the status of your concessions and their renewal date. If you have upcoming renewals in shared aquifer areas, anticipate that the procedure will be longer and more complex. Start the procedures with sufficient margin.
3. Monitor the development of coordinated plans between basin organizations. These plans will determine the specific conditions for aquifer use. Being aware of their processing will allow you to anticipate restrictions or changes in your concession conditions.
4. Adapt the operations of your user community. If you belong to a groundwater user community, verify whether its bylaws and use regime are compatible with the new coordination requirements and prepare the necessary adaptation.
5. Consult with a specialist advisor in water law. Inter-administrative coordination between demarcations adds legal complexity. A specialized advisor can help you anticipate the specific impact on your concessions and prepare the necessary documentation for the new procedures.