This paper describes the water funding needs in Spain and the role of water tariffs in a mature water system. It looks at the evolution of the water tariffs from a highly subsidies system designed to increase farmers rents with economic development objectives in mind, to the present compensatory system It shows how in Spain, under present conditions of water stress, we might be moving beyond, to design a system of tariffs aimed at further improving efficiency in water use. I present some of the debates that are taking place in Spain today around the issue of making water tariffs part of a water savings strategy. These debates range from the economists views about marginal cost pricing and the liberalization of water markets, to those who see that water is not only an economic resource and argue that private appropriation of water has led to the displacement of natural communities and other non economic uses. In between these views we find useful ideas about how the effectiveness of pricing is linked to the existence of institutional and technological preconditions. Each of these raises some important considerations, specially for arid and semi arid countries