Without prior notice or having changed their consumption habits, in October some residents of Sant Hilari Sacalm began paying more than double or even triple their quarterly water bills. This increase occurred just after the town council of this municipality in the Selva region approved a mixed municipalization system for the service, integrating Agbar and the new municipal company Aigües de Sacalm, which is responsible for implementing the new rates. The situation has generated considerable outrage in the town, and this week around 500 people—practically 10% of the town's total population—took to the streets to protest, demanding the mayor's resignation, an immediate review of the rates, and greater transparency regarding the operation of the new company. The most affected users are shops, bars, and restaurants, as the new ordinance does not recognize them in a separate category, but rather groups them within the industrial sector, intended for large companies with high activity and a significant number of employees. At Bar Juani, on the roundabout at the entrance to the town, their water bill has jumped from around €200 to €680 in three months. "The bill covers July and August, because we're closed in September, and we've never received this charge before. I returned the bill because it's unacceptable; they must realize they've made a mistake," explains Micaela. Despite admitting that they use more water than a shop—for the sink, the kitchen, and washing dishes—she considers the €600 unfair: "I have to sell a lot of beer to earn that much," she says. In a much larger restaurant, the bill easily exceeds €1,000, and in a shop with only an emergency restroom, it reaches €300. Residential consumers have also noticed a sharp increase in their water bills, as the new contract imposes a much higher penalty for switching providers. "Before, it cost me 40-something euros every quarter; now it's 108 euros," explains Albert Santaugini, whose consumption exceeds 30 cubic meters. The mayor of Sant Hilari, Jordi Rotllant, admits that the City Council has made several mistakes in applying the new rates and that they are working to correct them soon. "From the outset, we recognized that there had been several errors, especially with businesses, which had been charged the industrial rate, making their costs much higher. For these cases, it's necessary to create a new category similar to the residential rate," he acknowledges. And regarding private individuals, he concludes: "It's true that average consumption is higher than we thought, so we believe we need to rethink the pricing for the different tiers." Income for investments

This week's protest wasn't the first against the municipal government's water rates. At the end of October, around five hundred residents also took to the streets. That demonstration was spontaneous, organized through a social media campaign, and it was from that moment that the Platform in Defense of Water was formed, the organizer of this second protest. Lawyer Albert Fauria, who was born in Sant Hilari but doesn't live there, provides legal counsel to the new association. "The creation of the new company, with 51% owned by Aigües de Sacalm and 49% by Agbar, was approved unanimously by the council [although the opposition parties have now distanced themselves], but its implementation has revealed some completely abnormal aspects and a worrying lack of transparency," he says.

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Antoni Rossell Terris died four months ago, at the age of 88, in Sant Hilari Sacalm, La Selva. When his will was made public, the entire town learned exciting news: all the money he had earned during his life was left to the Anton Busquets y Punset Institute so that young people in Sant Hilari could study and enjoy quality education. Rossell Terris, who had no children but many nieces and nephews, learned the trade of tailoring at a very young age, making a fortune, but never had the opportunity to pursue higher education; a thorn in his side that, through this donation, he wanted to repair, thinking of the next generation.

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