08/11/2014
This week the central statistics unit for Spain has published water consumption figures dating back to the year 
2012, showing the average water consumption in Spain was 137 litres per person per day, 3.5% less than the year before.
In the region of Valencia consumption was higher than anywhere else in the country at 160 litres per day per head of population, despite the cost per cubic litre being among the highest in Spain at 1.98€ per cubic metre.
The most expensive area of Spain is Murcia at 2.50€, followed by the Balearics (2.38€), Catalunya (2.29€) and then Valencia .
The cheapest water was consumed by those living in Castilla y León and La Rioja, where each cubic litre cost just 1.02€, and the other northern regions of Galicia, Aragón and Asturias were also among the least expensive, these areas subject to more frequent rainfall than other, more arid areas of Spain. The national average cost per cubic metre was 1.73€, 12.3% higher than in 2011, with this price being made up of 1.03€ for supply and 0.70€ for sanitation treatment.
Over 69% of the water distributed in Spain during 2012 was to homes, with the rest being accounted for by municipal consumption and various sectors of the economy. Despite overall consumption falling, the amount supplied to economic concerns and the nation’s Town Halls rose by 2.6% and 4.6% respectively. However, in the Comunidad Valenciana the proportion of water supplied to private homes was far higher, at 79%.
Of all the water supplied only 4% was from desalination plants, as opposed to 67% from surface water and 29% from underground sources. As the effects of the recent drought take hold, though, it can be expected that the proportion of desalinated water supplied will increase in 2014.
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