Septic tank and water supply: villa checks in Spain

Septic tank and water supply for a villa in Spain: who supplies water in each town, drought status, cisterns, wells, septic tank rules and what to ask.

Last checked 17 October 2026

What you will learn

• Who supplies the water in each town on this coast
• Where to check the drought status for yourself
• The questions to ask about a septic tank or a well

Two questions matter more than they seem when you buy a villa in Spain: where the water comes from, and where it goes. On the Costa Blanca North the answers change from town to town and sometimes from street to street, between mains supply and a private well, and between mains sewerage and a septic tank. Checking the septic tank and water supply of a villa before you sign is quick, and it avoids the costs that only show up in the first dry summer.

Who supplies the water, town by town

Teulada-Moraira and Benitachell. Both towns share the Consorcio de Aguas Teulada-Benitatxell, and the service is run under concession by Hidraqua, as the Teulada-Moraira town hall notes, with offices in Teulada, Moraira and Benitatxell.

Benissa. The town runs its own water service, the Servicio Municipalizado de Aguas Potables of the Ajuntament, which posts supply notices on the Aigües de Benissa website.

Calp. Water is supplied by Aguas de Calpe, a municipal mixed company that also handles wastewater treatment.

Xàbia. Water is supplied by AMJASA, Aguas Municipales de Jávea, and the town has its own desalination plant.

Ask the operator, not only the seller, whether the house is connected, in whose name the contract is, and whether any bills are unpaid. The contract is changed into your name after completion.

Drought and restrictions

Several towns on this coast draw their water from coastal aquifers, and in dry years those aquifers suffer. In June 2024 the Ajuntament de Teulada reported that seawater was entering the aquifers and that salinity in the Senija well was about ten times its normal level. In August 2024 the town set up drinking water distribution points, and on 13 September 2024 the regional health authority declared the tap water fit for consumption again throughout the municipality.

The official measure of water scarcity is published every month by the Júcar river basin authority, the CHJ, in its drought monitoring reports. In the report for September 2026, published on 2 October 2026, the scarcity index for the Marina Alta was 0.47, down from 0.51 in August. That places it in the band the CHJ calls moderate scarcity (pre-alert, 0.30 to 0.49). A formal change of scenario needs the values to persist, so check the latest report rather than a headline.

Restrictions on watering gardens or filling pools are set locally, by the town hall and the water operator, and announced in their notices. A large garden and a pool are the first uses to be limited, so ask how much water the house used last summer.

Cisterns and wells

Many older villas have a cistern (aljibe), a tank that stores water for the house. It is storage, not a source: ask how it is filled, when it was last cleaned and whether the house also has a direct mains connection.

A well is a different matter. Under the water regulation, an owner may use groundwater on their own land up to 7,000 cubic metres a year, under the conditions the regulation sets, and the use must be notified to the basin authority. In groundwater bodies declared at risk, new wells need the CHJ's authorisation. The regulation also sets minimum distances between a new well and a septic tank, of 25 or 50 metres depending on how the well is lined. Ask for the well's registration papers, and remember that nobody tests its water for you.

Mains sewer or septic tank

The Valencian planning law, the TRLOTUP, counts a plot as fully serviced only when its wastewater goes to a mains sewer connected to a treatment plant. A septic tank does not meet that test, although the town can accept an individual system where a mains connection brings no benefit or would cost too much. Many villas on this coast were built before the sewer reached their street, and some streets still have none, so ask.

The water regulation prohibits any discharge that could pollute water, including wastewater filtering into the ground, without prior authorisation. For a discharge into the ground that authorisation comes from the basin authority, the CHJ; for a connection to the municipal sewer it comes from the town hall. A sealed tank that is emptied by a licensed company does not discharge into the ground, which is why it is often the simpler system to keep in order.

A septic tank has running costs: emptying, maintenance, and repairs or replacement when it is old or too small for the house. When a mains sewer reaches the street, connecting to it may come with works and charges of its own. For a house on rustic land, the planning law puts the cost of water supply and wastewater treatment on the owner.

Septic tank and water supply: what to ask

The supply. Which operator supplies the house, whether it is on the mains, whose name the contract is in and whether the bills are paid.

The use. How much water the house used last year, and how the garden and the pool are watered and filled.

The well. If there is one, whether its use was notified to the CHJ, and what it supplies.

The sewage. Mains sewer or septic tank. If it is a tank: sealed or soakaway, its age and size, any authorisation, the emptying records, and its distance from any well.

The future. Whether the town plans a sewer in the street, and what connection would involve.

Your lawyer covers the legal side of these answers, and an independent surveyor can inspect the tank and the installations. Our guide to property due diligence sets out the other checks, and the guide to the annual costs of owning a property shows where water and sewage fit in the yearly budget. If you plan to add a pool, read about building a pool first.

The practical takeaway: ask for the water and sewage answers in writing before the private contract, and confirm anything that depends on the plot with the town hall or an architect. We check the supply and the drainage of every house we show. These are the villas for sale in Moraira on the market now.

Homes for this guide

Moraira

• Villas for sale in Moraira
• Property for sale in Moraira

Written by Nicolas Strebel.