The water is managed through the private company Aquarbe, belonging to the multinational Suez, in Zumarraga and Urretxu since 2007. Now, the City of Zumarraga has denounced the contract it had signed for five years and decided not to extend it, because a report by the financial controller recommends it. At the municipal plenary on Wednesday they decided to take this step, although the mayor of the PSE-EE, Mikel Serrano, has considered that Aquarbe has offered an "excellent" service, according to the chronicle made by Asier Zaldua in Goierriko Hitza: "In many villages they would like our service, but a report from the Financial Controller advises that the contract should not be extended.

The municipal groups of EH Bildu and Elkarrekin Zumarraga that are in opposition are very different. In addition to denouncing the "abuse" of the company, they point out that from now on more technical steps should be taken in public management. The representative of EH Bildu pointed out that although water consumption has dropped by 20%, the company’s profits have increased by 32%.

The Onura Público platform, which brings together different social agents, has also demanded the municipality of the service because, as he said, it is not possible to do business with a basic resource. In the same vein, he stressed that the situation of the workers on this platform is not better either, since the employees of Aquarbe have an agreement of the State of Epania, worse than that of the Gipuzkoa Water Consortium, dependent on the public institutions.

Zumarraga and Urretxu are the only municipalities in Gipuzkoa that have privatized water management – also in Ipar Euskal Herria this service has been outsourced to external multinationals – and in this situation the citizens and the social partners have made protests and complaints about the risk that the bid they have with Aquarbe will automatically be extended this year.

We have recently published in the Semanario ARGIA a report by Estitxu Eizagirre on this problem and on the battle that is taking place in these municipalities in favor of this fundamental right.