Can you drill a well on rustic land in Spain? The law, the paperwork and the cost
Yes: on your own land you may draw up to 7,000 m³ of groundwater a year without a concession. But you almost always have to notify the authority before drilling, and in some places you need its authorisation.
The rule: 7,000 m³ a year
Spain's Water Act lets a landowner use the springs that rise on the land and the groundwater drawn from it, as long as the total stays under 7,000 m³ a year (TRLA art. 54.2). That is a lot of water for a home: two people use about 70 m³ a year. The water may only be used on that same plot (RDPH art. 84.3). Above 7,000 m³ you need a concession.
Which paperwork applies
- Usually: a notification. Before drilling, you notify the basin authority, with the plot's Catastro certificate, the flow and volume you expect, and the works. It checks them and enters the well in the water register, the Registro de Aguas (RDPH arts. 85 and 88).
- Authorisation where the aquifer is declared at risk of failing good status: no drilling without it (RDPH art. 84.2).
- Authorisation where the well is within 100 m of a stream (the zona de policía): the authority checks it does not take water from the river (RDPH art. 87.4).
- Distances: 20 m from other wells on rustic land below 0.15 L/s, and 100 m above it, unless the basin plan says otherwise (RDPH art. 87.2).
The report for any plot in the map tells you whether the aquifer is declared at risk and how far the nearest stream runs.
Who to ask
The authority of the river basin district the plot lies in. Basins that cross regions are run by the state's confederations; basins inside one region by regional agencies, with their own forms on the same law.
| River basin | Authority |
|---|---|
| Miño-Sil | Confederación Hidrográfica del Miño-Sil |
| Galicia-Costa | Augas de Galicia |
| Cantábrico Oriental | Confederación Hidrográfica del Cantábrico (URA in the Basque internal basins) |
| Cantábrico Occidental | Confederación Hidrográfica del Cantábrico |
| Duero | Confederación Hidrográfica del Duero |
| Tajo | Confederación Hidrográfica del Tajo |
| Guadiana | Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadiana |
| Guadalquivir | Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir |
| Cuencas Mediterráneas Andaluzas | Junta de Andalucía |
| Guadalete y Barbate | Junta de Andalucía |
| Tinto, Odiel y Piedras | Junta de Andalucía |
| Segura | Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura |
| Júcar | Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar |
| Ebro | Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro |
| Cuencas Internas de Cataluña | Agència Catalana de l'Aigua |
| Illes Balears | Govern de les Illes Balears (Administración Hidráulica) |
| Gran Canaria | Consejo Insular de Aguas de Gran Canaria |
| Fuerteventura | Consejo Insular de Aguas de Fuerteventura |
| Lanzarote | Consejo Insular de Aguas de Lanzarote |
| Tenerife | Consejo Insular de Aguas de Tenerife |
| La Palma | Consejo Insular de Aguas de La Palma |
| La Gomera | Consejo Insular de Aguas de La Gomera |
| El Hierro | Consejo Insular de Aguas de El Hierro |
| Ceuta | Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir |
| Melilla | Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir |
What it costs
A domestic borehole, all in (drilling, casing, pump, wellhead and paperwork), by depth:
| Depth | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 50 m | €4,000–9,000 |
| 100 m | €6,500–15,500 |
| 150 m | €9,000–22,000 |
Estimated from drillers' published prices in Spain (October 2026): drilling €35–90 a metre, casing €15–40 a metre, and €1,500–2,500 for the pump, wellhead and paperwork. Hard rock costs more. Ask for three quotes.
If the plot already has a well
Ask whether it is registered in the Registro de Aguas, and for the decision that registered it. An unregistered well can often be legalised, but the buyer inherits that job. Ask too how much it gives in August, not in spring.
Before you drill
See what the registered wells nearby found, and at what depth: each plot's report sums it up, and each municipality page gives the figures for the town. Choosing the exact spot is a hydrogeologist's job.
Check the water under a plot →
TRLA (Royal Legislative Decree 1/2001) art. 54; RDPH (Royal Decree 849/1986, as amended in 2023) arts. 84–88. Information, not advice: the basin authority has the final word.