In 2001, Riogordo Council was convicted of illegally using an aquifer located on private land at El Cortijo de Aute and ordered to pay the owners €1 million. And as one might expect, this was not going to happen with any rapidity.
The former Mayor of Riogordo, Francisco Alarcón (PSOE), who was in power until 2011, did not pay the debt and was even disqualified from public office for six months for breach of the court order.
The current Mayor, Antonio Alés (PP), has been in power since May 2011 and has finally set the ball rolling by agreeing a deal with the family who own the land. They will receive €3,000 per month for the next 28 years and have already received the first two instalments.