Here’s Why Your Water Bill Will Soon Skyrocket

After the price increases for electricity and gas, here comes the water bill also takes the elevator. According to the Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME), each French person consumes on average 148 liters of water per day. Although consumption will have slightly decreased by 3% in 2023, as indicated by The Parisianthe French could see their bills continue to rise.

Despite the drop in consumption due to the restrictions imposed during the summer drought 2023Régis Banquet, vice-president in charge of water within the Intercommunalités de France association, stated bluntly: ” We will not be able to deprive ourselves of a price increase some water “This new increase is added to those of last year, amplified by the rising energy costs and raw materials.

A water bill that will increase for this very specific reason

As a reminder, in France, the water financing
is based on the principle that it is the users, and not the taxpayers through taxes, who pay for drinking water and sanitation services. Thus, 80% of the water bill is directly related to consumption. More moderate consumption therefore naturally leads to a decrease in income for local communities.

This challenge comes at a critical time when
massive investments are needed to renovate the distribution and sanitation network, as water economist Alexandre Mayol points out when he mentions ” and
investment walls ” imminent. On this subject, the expert deplores the political choices of the last decades: ” Carrying out work was an investment that elected officials saw as a political riskbecause it created a nuisance for local residents. »

Investments to improve the water network which are reflected in the water bill

The figures are staggering: over five years, it will be necessary to pay out 30 billion eurosaccording to the Intercommunalités de France association, to modernize water networks, half of which are intended to replace the
old pipes that leak. About one in five liters never reaches the taps, which is equivalent to almost a billion cubic meters ofwasted water
each year, representing a total consumption of almost 20 million people.

In departments such as Meuse or Lot, up to 40% of water evaporated in the pipes in 2021, according to the National Observatory of Public Water and Sanitation Services. A critical situation which urgently requires the replacement of pipes, particularly those laid before 1965, representing a quarter of
current infrastructureaccording to Sispea (information system on public water and sanitation services).

Several changes coming to the water bill for the French

The other fifteen billion should be used to finance ”
again treatment process in the face of new pollutants “, including PFAS, these
eternal pollutants pointed out by experts. To address the rising costs, one proposed solution is to increase the fixed portion of the water subscription, currently capped at 30% of the total bill, to 40%, according to Intercommunalités de France. This measure aims to stabilize income water services despite fluctuations in consumption. Alexandre Mayol supports this initiative, stressing its importance in making water owners contribute fairly second homeswhose low consumption does not reflect the scale of the infrastructure needed to serve them.

Elected officials are also considering a possible increase

of
price of cubic meter of waterwhile stressing that this will not automatically lead to an increase in the bill, provided that everyone reduces their consumption, they insist. They unanimously point out that the water bill represents only a tiny part of the household budgetcapping at around 520 euros per yearwhich is three times less than the cost of electricity. What do the French consume? Bottled water at 2,000 euros per cubic meter, compared to two euros on tap.recalled Alexandre Mayol.
This is proof that they are ready to payprovided the water is of good quality. »

Finally, the revaluation of the price of a cubic meter of water could also be accompanied by innovative tariff revisionssuch as the introduction of progressive systems. The idea would be to make water more expensive beyond a certain threshold, while offering the first cubic meters free of charge or at a reduced rate. From January 2025, the
Lyon metropolis will implement this new pricing, aimed at distinguishing essential needs from recreational uses, defended Anne Grosperrin. Régis Banquet, president of the Carcassonne urban area, is considering a similar approach to generate an additional million euros per year, crucial for the modernization of infrastructure
hydraulics.