The debates about water management at the local level are thriving in Catalonia. The discussion is fuelled by several factors, including a dispute about recovering common goods and a reaction against privatization processes. However, it is also about demanding democratization in water management, inspired by a desire for greater citizen participation and transparency. The article presents results from a study whose objective was to analyse the forms of management of water supply services in urban areas of Catalonia from the perspective of citizen participation in public policy. I applied a qualitative methodological strategy with in-depth interviews. The results show that, although there exist possibilities for the creation of participatory spaces, these are not encouraged, which prompt us to reflect on the democratization and reformulation of participatory management in relation to water. This issue has been published as Volume 5, Number 1 of the WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers (http://waterlat.org/publications/working-papers-series/). This is a special series of the Working Papers, titled “The struggle for democracy in Spain: grassroots initiatives to defend essential water services as a common good”, José Esteban Castro (Ed.), Edurne Bagué (Org.).