EPAL has never required its customers to pay initial securities.

Before December 2000, EPAL used to ensure compliance with the obligations within the water supply contract by means of a guarantee, where customers could choose to provide the concerned terms subscribed by a suitable guarantor or resort to the automatic guarantee provided by AREPAL (Associação para o Serviço de Apoio Social e Reformados da EPAL) by paying a monthly rate established by the Government, which would be included in the water bill. As of December 2000, such guarantee is no longer required.

Hence, EPAL cannot reimburse initial securities which have not been charged.

• Identity Card, Citizen's Card, Passport or Driving Licence
• Taxpayer No.
• Document proving that the Customer is the legal occupier of the location to be supplied (Lease contract, Promissory contract of purchase, Deed of purchase and sale, or another)
• Meter reading. If the location has a meter installed, it is mandatory to provide the reading, preferably by photograph
• Signature of the Customer, a representative or an attorney

You may request that EPAL send the contract through our website for your comfort.

You should notify EPAL within a minimum of three-day notice of your intention to terminate the contract, either on the EPAL site, EPAL shops, by letter or fax, indicating the following:

• Customer name and code
• Date and address of the location for which you intend to terminate the contract
• Meter reading
• Address for the last Water Bill to be sent

The Water Bill is the document for paying consumption, it may be an invoice or credit note in the case of values to be reimbursed by EPAL. The Water Bill also includes the Customer Account, which comprises the documents to be settled (invoices and/or credit notes) on the date it is issued. The overall Customer Account value corresponds to the total value to be paid or received.

Please look up our tariff here.

Water consumption is billed based on the meter readings. If there have not been any meter readings then consumption shall be estimated.

If there have not been any meter readings then consumption shall be estimated based on the average of previous actual consumption and adjusted according to the meter readings. Estimated consumption shall be immediately adjusted after the next meter reading.

A monthly figure depending on the calibre of the meter installed (15mm, 20mm, etc.) and the type of consumption (domestic or non-domestic) which pays for the cost of providing access to the direct water service. In other words, a sum intended to compensate EPAL for the relative costs of the construction, maintenance and amplification of the necessary infrastructures for providing the water supply services.

The Sewerage Charge is a fixed and variable amount calculated on the number of cubic metres of water charged, which is to pay for services provided by the City Hall in the collection, deposit, and treatment of sewage (solid waste) and waste water from households or industrial.
(Resolution No. 11/AM/96, published in Municipal Bulletin No. 107, from 5.3.96, Ministerial Directive No. 399/85, from June 28th, and STA Court Decision, 1st Section, from 18.12.97

The Lisbon City Council Supplement is a figure calculated on the number of cubic metres of water charged to compensate for collective municipal consumption considered to be in the general interest of the public, such as street washing, watering gardens, fountains, etc.
(Ministerial Directive 309-F/84 from May 23rd)

We have several payment methods for your Water Bill, namely Direct Debit, ATM, PayShop agents, CTT outlets, bank cheque or the EPAL Shops.

Customers registered on EPALnet, EPAL's digital customer service counter, can also pay by MB Way.

You may sign up through the following:

• EPAL site by filling in the form and indicating your account number - IBAN
• Customer Helpline | +351 213 221 111 (cost of a call to the national fixed network), where you will need to indicate your IBAN

You will later on be sent a form, which must be signed and returned to EPAL. This service will only be activated after the form has been received

After the date for paying the Water Bill has passed and a specific notice has been sent to you, EPAL shall consider suspending the supply until this situation has been solved. In this case you may only pay the Water Bill in EPAL shops.

It is a service that enables you to receive your Water Bill by email.

Just go to EPALnet (if you have registered, and if not you can just register) and activate the service indicating an email address to which the Water Bill can be sent.

No. From the moment you sign up to the e-Water Bill you will only receive the digital document.

The document sent by email is certified and replaces the paper bill, therefore it may be used for tax purposes. The document shall serve as receipt after payment.

You can go to EPALnet and look up/view/print a copy of the document, hence checking the billed values and payment reference. The last six water bills will be available at EPALnet.

EPAL has different types of meter installed in its customers’ homes. From January 2019, when you send in your meter reading, use the numbers on a white or black background (m³), followed by the numbers on a red background (litres). 

Meters are read by EPAL every two months except for Customers with large consumption figures. In these cases EPAL will perform a monthly reading on their meters. If a meter has not been read for over two months by EPAL, please contact us through the EPAL site or Customer Helpline so that a free reading may be scheduled.

• EPAL has several options available for communicating meter reading.
  Avoid billing by estimate and communicate the reading according to the date indicated on the invoice using the following means:

  • EPALnet | Innovative and interactive service that allows online validation of the reading. To sign up, register now!
  • Meter readings phone line | 800 201 101 (free call)
  • Free smartphone app: myAQUA (available for Android and iPhone)
  • waterbeep® (online validation of the reading)
  • You can also send a photo / image of the meter reading to leituras.epal@adp.pt, indicating your customer code.

In the case of a visible water leakage, please shut the safety valve immediately, and if you are not able to cut off the water then please call our Customer Helpline - +351 213 221 111 (cost of a call to the national fixed network).

If you suspect water leakage please close all taps in your house while keeping the safety valve open. If the needle or red coil (litres and decilitres) moves, then there is water leakage in one of the taps, flush toilet or not visible.

As soon as you realise that you have no water:

• Check if all taps at home are closed and switch off any electrical device that uses water (washing machines and water heaters)
• Call our Water-Cuts Line to know when water supply will return to your area
• If there has not been a water-cut in your area, please check if the rest of the building is experiencing the same or if it is only in your home and make sure that the safety valve near the meter is open (to open it, rotate it anticlockwise)
• If you remain without water, please contact our Customer Helpline - +351 213 221 111  (cost of a call to the national fixed network)

Please contact our Customer Helpline (+351 213 221 111, cost of a call to the national fixed network) so that this situation may be solved as soon as possible.

The plumbing, safety valve and shut-off valve are the responsibility of the Customer (property owner/tenant) where the latter shall be responsible for their preservation and maintenance. EPAL must be contacted in the case of needing to handle the shut-off valve, since it is the only legally qualified company to handle it.

EPAL is responsible for meter reliability while the Customer (property owner/tenant) is responsible for its preservation and good conditions and shall compensate EPAL for any damages or loss.

The emergency personnel for repairing leaks in public locations shall be available 24/7.

The emergency personnel for household assistance to open and cut-off water shall be available every day between 8 am and 12 am. You may contact our Customer Helpline (+351 213 221 111, cost of a call to the national fixed network)), if required.

We carry out many household assistance services (repair piping near the meters, replace the shut-off valve, repair or replace the safety valve, etc.) where related costs shall be included in the following Water Bill.

You can contact us via the EPAL site, Customer Helpline, EPAL shops, letter or fax indicating your name, address and Customer Code. Your complaint or suggestion will be handled as soon as possible.