Ibiza is preparing for a new phase in the management of its water and sewerage infrastructure, with the city's new service contract already awarded and now awaiting formalisation.

The development was highlighted by Ibiza Town Hall's councillor for Environment, Jordi Grivé, during his participation in the Spain Smart Water Summit 2026 in Madrid, where he presented the city's experience of managing water resources in an island territory facing strong seasonal pressure.

The new concession is intended to provide a longer-term framework for investment, infrastructure renewal, digitalisation and improvements to the municipal water and sewerage networks.

A New Contract for Water and Sewerage

The new concession covers the management of drinking-water supply and sewerage services in the municipality of Eivissa.

According to the public procurement documents, the concession has a planned duration of 20 years and a total contract amount of approximately €189.87 million including taxes.

The contract has been awarded, but the Ayuntamiento said on 1 October that it was still completing the formalisation process.

That means the new concession should not yet be described as fully operational.

For the city, the new contract is intended to create a stable framework for the investment and modernisation of infrastructure that has accumulated significant renewal needs over many years.

Ibiza Already Relies Heavily on Desalination

Water management in Ibiza faces particular challenges because of the island's limited natural resources and the major increase in demand during the tourist season.

According to the Ayuntamiento, around 95% of the water supply currently comes from desalination.

The municipality also says that the island's population can multiply by three during the tourist season, creating substantially greater pressure on water infrastructure and requiring networks to operate effectively during periods of maximum demand.

This seasonal difference is one of the central issues highlighted by Grivé at the Madrid conference.

The objective, according to the councillor, is to develop infrastructure capable of responding to peak demand while maintaining the quality and reliability of the service.

Digitalisation and Fewer Water Losses

One of the main areas of the new strategy is the modernisation of the water network through technology and data.

The new contract is expected to support investment aimed at improving network performance, reducing water losses, renewing pipes and installations and improving monitoring and control systems.

The Ayuntamiento has already been working on digitalisation and monitoring, with the aim of obtaining more detailed information about the condition and operation of the network.

The next stage is intended to use that information to identify leaks and abnormalities earlier and allow maintenance problems to be addressed before they affect residents.

The municipality has also been carrying out works to reduce seawater intrusion into the sewerage network.

Sewerage and Rainwater Infrastructure

Another major area of work concerns the relationship between sewerage and rainwater networks.

The Ayuntamiento plans to continue modernising the systems and progressively separating rainwater and wastewater infrastructure where necessary.

The objective is to improve the city's ability to evacuate water during episodes of intense rainfall, reduce pressure on the sewerage system and limit problems such as overflows and unpleasant odours.

This has become particularly relevant as Ibiza works to improve its resilience to episodes of heavy rainfall.

The city currently has stormwater infrastructure, but further investment is planned through the new water contract. A broader hydrogeological study is also expected to identify where additional drainage infrastructure and stormwater retention measures may be required.

Reusing Water

Water reuse is another part of the city's longer-term strategy.

Grivé identified regenerated water as one of the main opportunities for the future, particularly for uses such as gardens, sports facilities and other urban applications where drinking water may not be necessary.

The aim is to increase the number of uses for treated water before it is ultimately returned to the environment, potentially reducing pressure on other sources of supply.

The Ayuntamiento also says that two underground-water springs have already been incorporated into the system and are providing water for reuse.

Work Has Already Started Before the New Contract

Although the new concession is still awaiting formalisation, the municipality says that improvements to water management have already been taking place.

These include digital monitoring, infrastructure improvements, work addressing seawater intrusion into the sewerage network and the use of available water resources more efficiently.

The city has also allocated funding from the Sustainable Tourism Tax to projects connected with the water cycle, linking part of tourism-generated revenue to infrastructure facing particularly high seasonal demand.

Looking Towards the Next Decades

The Ayuntamiento's strategy brings several areas together: infrastructure renewal, leak reduction, digitalisation, water reuse, sewerage modernisation and improved rainwater management.

For Ibiza, the challenge is not limited to ensuring water reaches homes and businesses. The city's infrastructure also has to cope with large seasonal variations in demand, limited natural resources and increasingly important requirements for managing intense rainfall.

The new concession is intended to provide the long-term framework for that work.

For now, the key point is that the new water and sewerage contract has been awarded but is still awaiting formalisation. Once that process is completed, the municipality expects the new concession to provide the framework for a major programme of infrastructure renewal and technological modernisation in Ibiza.