By Linus Palmqvist, Head of Operations Reviewed by Simon Nilsson· Last reviewed
In Palma, yes. It is treated to national standards and the water company publishes results street by street. It is harder than most mainland water and the taste varies by neighbourhood and by season, which is why so many people here filter it even though it is perfectly safe.
Palma's water is treated to Spain's national drinking water standards and monitored by EMAYA, the regional health authority and the national database. What it is not is uniform: EMAYA itself splits Palma into a high zone and a low zone, and what reaches your tap depends on which one you are in and what the mix of sources looks like that season.
This page is about Palma. Mallorca has no island-wide water company, so if you live in Sóller, Alcúdia, Manacor or anywhere else outside Palma, your supplier, your water and your account process are all different. Check your last bill rather than assuming anything on this page applies to you.
Check your street, not the island
EMAYA publishes water quality by postcode, neighbourhood and address. Given how much Palma water varies by zone and season, this is the only figure worth trusting.
Search by postcode, pick your neighbourhood from the list, or enter an address. It returns the current analysis for the network feeding you, hardness included.
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Cross-check on the national database
SINAC shows whether your supply zone is currently classified as suitable for consumption, when it was last sampled, and anything outside the permitted range.
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Look at the building too
Roof tanks are common in older Palma buildings, and a holiday flat that stands empty for months is a different proposition from one lived in year round.
Who supplies water in Palma
EMAYA runs water and sanitation for Palma. It does not serve the rest of Mallorca: every other municipality on the island arranges its own supply, sometimes through a private operator and occasionally at the level of an individual development. As everywhere in Spain, you do not choose your water company and you cannot switch.
EMAYA
EMAYA
Wholly owned by Palma City Council
No English service published
Can you deal with them in English?
We could not verify any official English service at EMAYA. Its customer interface runs in Catalan and Spanish, and we found no published commitment that a phone call or an office appointment will be handled in English. That does not mean nobody there speaks it, but do not plan around it. This is the normal situation in Spain, and Barcelona is the exception rather than the rule.
We checked the major water companies across Spain and marked which ones actually deal with customers in English. See every city in the table .
Hard water, desalination and the drought question
Palma's water comes from more than one place, and the mix changes through the year. That is behind both of the things people notice.
Why it is hard, and why it changes
Water drawn from the island's aquifers and springs is naturally hard and heavily mineralised, which is where the limescale comes from. EMAYA blends that with treated reservoir water and desalinated seawater from the Son Tugores plant and the Bay of Palma desalination plant, which softens the picture at some times of year. That is why your water can taste different in August than it did in February.
Is Mallorca in a drought?
The Balearics were carrying about 45% of their water reserves in June 2026, with Mallorca at 46%, and the Palma-Alcúdia area was classified as being on pre-alert. Pre-alert does not in itself ban households from watering a garden or filling a pool. It triggers planning measures, and any actual restriction comes from your municipality, so check locally rather than assuming.
Limescale is worth planning for here
Hard water is not a health problem, but in Palma it is a real maintenance one: kettles, shower screens and boilers all suffer. A softener plumbed into the property is the fix, and it needs the owner's agreement if you are renting. A jug filter helps with taste and does nothing at all about scale.
Just moved into a flat in Palma?
Get the last water bill from the landlord, seller or agent and photograph the meter with the reading visible on the day you take over. Then get the contract moved into your name. EMAYA handles this online, by appointment at its offices, or by phone, and the process runs in Catalan and Spanish.
We deal with them for you
We contact your local water company and get the bill moved into your name, in English.
Works whether the water is running or has been switched off
Free, and we earn no commission on water
We will offer to check your other bills, which is how we make our money
Yes. It is treated to Spain's national drinking water standards and monitored by EMAYA, the regional health authority and the national database. You can check the current result for your own street using EMAYA's address lookup.
Mallorca has no island-wide water company, so there is no single answer. Each municipality organises its own supply, and some developments have their own arrangements. Check the published results for your own municipality and supply zone on the national database.
Much of it comes from the island's aquifers and springs, which are naturally high in calcium and magnesium. EMAYA blends that with reservoir water and desalinated seawater, so the hardness varies by zone and by season rather than staying at one level.
Partly, and it depends when you ask. EMAYA mixes groundwater and spring water with treated reservoir water and desalinated seawater from the Son Tugores and Bay of Palma plants. Desalinated water is remineralised and disinfected before distribution, so it is not less safe, but it can taste different.
In June 2026 the Balearics were at about 45% of their water reserves, Mallorca at 46%, with the Palma-Alcúdia area on pre-alert. Pre-alert is a planning stage rather than an automatic household ban. Restrictions come from individual municipalities, so check your own.
Not for safety. A carbon jug filter helps if you dislike the chlorine taste. If your problem is limescale on appliances, that needs a softener plumbed in, which a jug filter cannot do.
Still have questions?
We will sort the water bill while you unpack
Free, in English, whether the water is running and the contract just needs your name on it or the supply has been switched off and needs reactivating. Useful here, because EMAYA does not publish an English service.
Linus moved from Sweden to Málaga in 2021 and set his own home up here, so most of this he has already done the hard way once. Before Settlewell he spent years at Workwide, the cross-border recruiter that has helped over 10,000 people into jobs abroad, latterly as its Head of Recruitment and Operations. He speaks Spanish, lives in Málaga with his partner, and spends his days on the phone to Spanish providers.
Reviewed by Simon Nilsson, Founder & CEO·Last reviewed
Where this comes from
Written from the water company's own published information, Spain's national drinking water database and regional water data. Water quality and drought status change, so check the official sources below for the current position.
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Tap water in Mallorca
EMAYA
