Two companies control 87% of private water in Spain

Two companies control the tap for half of Spain: the water business in figures

You turn on the tap, buy a bottle, water the fields. Behind every everyday gesture lies the same structure: a handful of corporations deciding who pays and how much. Water, which until the mid-20th century was considered a free good, is today a business with very specific winners.

According to industry data, Agbar (part of France's Suez group) and Aqualia (owned by FCC) control 87% of private urban water management in Spain. 55% of the population already pays their bill to multinationals. Madrid holds out with its public Canal de Isabel II, but Barcelona, Valencia, Murcia and Seville live under the umbrella of the two giants. The corporate engineering is worth studying: mergers, name changes and concessions that dilute accountability.

The big question is whether the private model works better. The Argentine case offers a forceful answer: in 1993, Suez took over Aguas Argentinas, applied tariff hikes of 88% and failed to meet 70% of the agreed investments. The State terminated the contract in 2006 and public management by AySA brought 2.4 million people access to drinking water and 2.1 million to sewerage. In 2024, AySA returned to operating surplus. Meanwhile, defenders of public ownership point to Singapore and the Netherlands as models of efficient state management.

Now, Spain is launching its fourth river basin planning cycle (2028-2033). The provisional schemes were under public consultation between November 2025 and May 2026, and the final plans must be approved before 31 December 2027. Allocations, reserves and ecological flows will be decided there. And in parallel, the desalination business is growing: Torrevieja is on its way to becoming the largest in Europe, with a brutal energy cost that someone ends up paying.

Are we looking at a public service or a captive market? The answer defines who controls the tap. And it doesn't look like it will fall from the sky.