Press Release: Survey on Water Supply and Sewerage. Year 2022.

Main results

The average water consumption of households was 128 litres per inhabitant per day in 2022, 3.9% less than in 2020.
The unit cost of water rose by 0.3%, to 1.92 euros per cubic metre.

More information

During 2022, 4,252 cubic hectometres (hm³) of water was supplied to the public urban water supply, 0.2% more than in the previous survey, conducted in 2020. Approximately three-quarters (3,151 hm³) were volumes of recorded water, that is, measured in the users' meters. The rest (1,101 hm³) were volumes of unrecorded water (not measured or estimated by capacities).

Volumes of water supplied to the network. Year 2022

Cubic hectometres (hm³)

By user type, household water consumption fell by 3.5% between 2022 and 2020, while that of economic sectors increased by 5.5% and municipal consumptions rose by 6.3%.

Volumes of water recorded and distributed. Year 2022

Cubic hectometres (hm³)

Unrecorded water is disaggregated into actual and apparent losses. Actual losses (leaks, burst pipes and supply network faults) were estimated at 653 hm³, which amounted to 15.4% of the total of water supplied to those networks.

Meanwhile, apparent losses (metering errors, fraud and authorised but not metered consumptions) accounted for 378 hm³.

Volumes of water recorded and distributed to users. Year 2022

Cubic hectometres (hm³)

Average household water consumption

Average household water consumption –calculated as a quotient between the total volume of water recorded and distributed to households and the resident population on 1 July each year– was 128 litres per inhabitant per day in 2022, a decrease of 3.9% compared with 2020.

Unit cost of water

The unit cost of water stood at 1.92 euros per cubic metre in 2022, an increase of 0.3% compared with the figure for 2020. This cost is defined as the quotient between the amounts paid for the supply of water plus those paid for sewerage, purification and sanitation or discharge fees, and the volume of water metered and distributed to all users.

The unit cost of water supplied stood at €1.16 per cubic metre, 2.0% more than in 2020. The cost of sanitation (sewerage, purification, sanitation and discharge fees) decreased by 2.1% to €0.76.

Origin of the water collected

66.4% of the volume captured by companies and public bodies that supply water came from surface water in 2022. 24.3% was from underground water and the remaining 9.3% came from other kinds of water (desalinated sea or saltwater).

Results by Autonomous Communities

The autonomous communities that most increased the volume of water recorded and distributed to users during 2022 were La Rioja (10.7%), Extremadura (7.6%) and Andalucia (5.0%).

In contrast, those that saw the greatest reduction were Comunitat Valenciana (-9.0%), Castilla-La Mancha (-7.1%) and Arágón (-5.2%).

Biennial variation of volumes recorded and distributed to users by Autonomous Community.
2020-2022

(%)

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The Autonomous Communities that distributed the greatest volume of water were Andalucía (19.1% of the total), Cataluña (14.1%) and Comunidad de Madrid (13.8%). At the other extreme were La Rioja (0.9%), Cantabria (1.6%) and Comunidad Foral de Navarra (1.8%).

By type of user, Andalucía was the autonomous community with the greatest consumption of water recorded and distribution of water to households (19.7% of the total) and to the economic sectors (17.4%). For its part, Comunidad de Madrid recorded the highest municipal consumptions (21.8% of the total).

Average household water consumption by Autonomous Community

The highest average water consumptions in 2022 were in Cantabria (187 litres per inhabitant and day), Castilla y León (146) and Principado de Asturias (143).

On the other hand, the lowest averages were recorded in País Vasco (85 litres per inhabitant per day), Aragón (110) and Cataluña (113).

Average household water consumption by Autonomous Communities and Cities. Year 2022

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Unit cost of water by Autonomous Community

The highest figures for the unit cost of water in 2022 were in Cataluña (2.98 euros per cubic metre), Illes Balears (2.52) and País Vasco (2.51).

On the other hand, Castilla y León (1.24 euros), Principado de Asturias (1.43) and La Rioja (1.46) recorded the lowest.

Unit cost of water by Autonomous Community. Year 2022

(euros/m³)

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Revisions and data updates

The data published today are final. All results of this operation are available on INEBase.

Methodological note

The main objective of the Statistics on Water supply and Sewerage is to quantify in physical units and value in economic magnitudes the activities relating to what is termed the comprehensive water cycle, comprising water supply and treatment (sewerage system and filtering of waste water).

In addition, it provides the necessary information to meet the demand of national and international organisations, companies in the sector and public administration agencies.

The information obtained is integrated with the data provided by the industrial and service surveys carried out by the INE in order to have a more complete view of the water situation in our economy. Synthesis indicators are also developed to facilitate the interpretation of the results obtained for users.

For more information, you can access the methodology and the standardised methodological report.

INE statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Good Practice for European Statistics. More information on Quality at INE and Code of Best Practices.