Water Price for Year 2019

Severočeská vodárenská společnost a.s. (SVS) announces the water price (water and sewer rates) for 2019 in the amount of 86.57 CZK per cubic meter without 15% VAT. The residents of North Bohemia will pay for these two services only 0.9% more than last year. Delivering 1,000 liters of quality drinking water to the consumer up to the tap and subsequent drainage of wastewater to its liquidation will cost only 0.88 CZK more, compared to the previous year. The rise in water prices is thus deep below the inflation which is around 2.3%.

The basic parameter for determining the water price is its consumption: the more cubic meters run through the pipeline the lower price of one cubic meter can be; because the costs for operating and maintaining the pipes remain the same whether the water flows through the pipes or not. Besides, the water price also takes into account a number of other parameters, calculations and predictions, including the need of water property renovation, the level of inflation etc.

The property renovation continues to be the priority for SVS. All resources for its securing, the SVS acquire only by selecting water and sewer rates and it is the only way how to ensure that water supply is not jeopardized and everything works. This responsible approach is reflected in water price which truly reflects the real costs of the region. Unlike other companies where is infrastructure renewal underfunded or secretly financed by public funds.

A large water system connected to rich water resources brings many benefits to the inhabitants of Northern Bohemia. The drought which prevailed throughout the Czech Republic in 2018 did not affect the drinking water supply area in North Bohemian region. The great advantage of SVS is a very sophisticated distribution system with sufficient supplies and sources of drinking water which can handle even extreme drought.

The price of water is rising at least, despite the fact that SVS is planning to invest more in the reconstruction and reparation of water infrastructure in 2019. Because of the difficulty to secure the entire water distribution process and its drainage, the costs for workers rewarding in the operational field are also increasing.

The average water consumption per resident of the North Bohemian region is 89 liters per day. Supply of drinking water in 2019 will cost one person 4.53 CZK per day. For water drainage, it will cost 4.33 CZK daily.

Drinking Water Price – handed over

This applies in the case of the supplementation of drinking water to the public water network under the management of another legal entity, in other words it is the water handed over to the municipal or other managers and owners at the transfer point.

The water price is 36.58 CZK/ m³ without VAT and 42.07 CZK/ m³ with VAT.

Drained Water Price – taken over

This applies in the case of the waste water taken over from the public sewerage under the management of another legal entity, in other words it is the water taken over to drainage from other managers and owners at the transfer point.

The water price is 36.41 CZK/ m³ without VAT and 41.87 CZK/ m³ with VAT.

Even with these prices is a solidarity approach applied and the price of water handed over and taken over is the same at all transfer points.

Frequently asked questions:

Why is the water expensive?

The water in the Czech Republic is definitely not expensive. People take good quality drinking water from the tap as a matter of course, but try to look at it as a strategic material and a limited natural resource. In the market basket of Czech households, the costs spent on water are the smallest item from all energies.  They represent about 1.6 %, while gas costs are 3.3 % and electricity expenses are 4.8 %. According to Czech Statistical Office, the annual expenditure per person for water and sewer rates in 2016 was 2,023 CZK, which is about a half if gas costs (4,199 CZK) and one third of electricity expenses (6,032 CZK). The water expenses are paradoxically comparable, for example, with alcoholic beverages (1,928 CZK) or tobacco (1,743 CZK). It is really impossible to consider the water in this context as expensive.

The average daily water consumption per person in the North Bohemian region is 89 liters. Drinking water supply will cost 4.53 CZK per day and for its drainage we will pay 4.33 CZK daily. In comparison with other expenses, it is certainly not much, especially when we realize that quality drinking water flows from our taps and very often is better than bottled water from shops.

Why is the water in the North Bohemian region more expensive than in other parts of the Czech Republic?

Within the Czech Republic, we can find more expensive and also cheaper regions, but it is not possible to compare the water price between regions due to different conditions. The SVS is the largest company in the Czech Republic and is serving more than 1.1 million inhabitants of 458 municipalities, more than 13.000 kilometers of water and sewerage systems, 200 water cleaners, 1,000 reservoirs, 60 water treatment plants. On the other hand, for example Prague, serves the same number of inhabitants on much smaller area of one city and it needs an incomparably smaller infrastructure, so the water price may therefore be lower.

The water price in the North Bohemian region reflects the real costs associated with its production, drainage and cleaning. In addition, after 1989 the SVS has inherited a significant part of the infrastructure in derelict condition, so it has to invest hundreds of million crowns into reparation – it will be over 1.6 billion CZK in 2018. Of course, this has to be reflected in price as long as cities and municipalities do not want to subsidize it. There is also the important fact, that the price is solidary, therefore uniform for the whole territory where SVS operates. Residents of both urban and country areas pay for water equally, without taking into account the differences in real costs between individual places.

How much keeps SVS from the water price? How much does the state earn?

The SVS as the owner of the infrastructure remains from the water price only 35% and all these funds are used for the property renewal. From water price which is 99 CZK goes around 43 CZK into the renovations, 36 CZK is given by SVS and 7 CZK is in the form of repairs given by SčVK. Into the company´s operation goes around 31 CZK of which 13 CZK goes to wages of employees.

Currently, more than a quarter of the water price represents state fees. If you pay 99 CZK for a cubic meter of water, the state will get 25 CZK in the form of VAT and fees. With a total annual consumption of 50 million cubic meters of water, the amount makes 1.25 billion CZK where VAT amounts 650 million CZK. The state collects almost the same amount of money from the water that SVS invest into the renewal every year.