Sóller Demands Tighter Water Control: Hoteliers Warn of Water Shortage

Hoteliers in Sóller Press for Tight Water Monitoring

It's one of those dry September days in Sóller: the air shimmers, the chairs on the Plaça are empty, and at the gas station on the edge of town you see more trucks with water tanks than usual. Amid this sense of scarcity, hoteliers are speaking up loudly. They are demanding stricter rules from the town hall and more frequent readings at private holiday accommodations.

Digital Meters vs. Quarterly Readings

Many hotels in the area monitor their consumption digitally and report the values daily. Privately rented houses and apartments, by contrast, are only read every three months. That causes frustration. 'If a holiday home has a large lawn or a pool, you notice it far too late,' says the operator of a family hotel on Carrer de sa Lluna, who would prefer to remain anonymous. 'That affects all of us, especially now, when reserves are barely enough.'

As a reminder: In Sóller there are almost as many hotel beds as holiday apartments – around 3,500 hotel places compared with about 3,200 guest beds in private accommodations. Given the current drought, the hoteliers fear that the municipal reservoirs could be depleted within a matter of days.

What the Hoteliers Propose

Proposals include: monthly readings, faster sanctions for excessive consumption, and a temporary ban on refilling private pools during particularly critical weeks. Some even advocate for mandatory installation of digital meters in tourist rental properties – at least for properties with a garden or pool.

The town hall has so far told us only that it is watching the situation and examining possible measures. Concrete decisions have not yet been made. In a town like Sóller, where tourism is part of daily life, the issue probably should not wait until winter.

On the ground you can feel the tension: conversations at the bakery, a few words in the supermarket, the gardeners reconsidering their operations. Everyone has a small idea how to save water – but organized monitoring is still lacking.

Whether there will be rapid regulations or only gradual solutions depends now on the municipality's actions. For the hoteliers, a lot is at stake: fluctuations in water use mean higher costs, less predictability – and in the worst case, if reserves run dry, a serious setback for everyone who lives off guests in the summer.