As soon as you turn the faucet or the lever faucet, you will already be charged water, or the fee for bringing the life-giving liquid to your home. A refreshing stream washes hands, fills a glass or cleans a plate. And as soon as it disappears into the sewers, you will also have a sewage charge, or the price for taking the water to the treatment plant. Therefore, we usually pay for water and sewerage for every cubic meter (1,000 liters, cubic meter, m³) of potable clear liquid consumed, so by their sum we easily get single component billing. Why did a number of domestic municipalities introduce two-component price of waterto which we also have to add the flat fee for the water meter?
Water meter with a maximum flow capacity of 2.5 cubic meters per hour.
| What is the difference between single-component and dual-component water prices? | ||
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Maintenance works are more expensive than water
We buy firewood, pellets or coal briquettes in specialized supermarkets, and then transport them home by car. While electricity, natural gas or tap water require a more demanding distribution infrastructure. Wires lead from power plants, we are connected to gas and water plants by pipelines. The commodity itself represents 81% (natural gas), 54% (electricity) and 20% (water) of the total bill. The remaining expenses will fall on the maintenance of the distribution system. So 80% of what we call goes to water and sewer lines, better treatment plants and local water managers’ salaries “water and sewer rates”.
The flat rate for the water meter is charged mainly in southern Bohemia.
Does the owner of an empty apartment, in which not a single drop falls into the sink for a long time, have to contribute to the water infrastructure? On the one hand, it is logical that, for example, Prague, Brňák or Ostravak will get zero consumption zero billing. But what if a water pipe bursts right near an abandoned house, and the intervention of water managers is necessary? Should residents of neighboring streets, neighborhoods and municipalities pay for the repair through their bill?
On the other hand, it is therefore understandable when, for example, the České Budějovice waterworks is financed by everyone who has a water connection in České Budějovice. The owner must pay for an unused collection point hundreds to thousands per year.
In abandoned houses, ice drips through a leaky roof. However, the average Czech man or woman consumes 89 liters a day at home. For example, when they cook, flush, wash, wash themselves or their dogs.
Where is there a flat fee for a water meter?
Buyers must in the following cities annually to pay a flat rate, even though they don’t turn the tap or move the lever battery at all. Unless otherwise stated, we will calculate the amount for the maximum flow capacity of the billed water meter of 2.5 m³/hour.
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Sources: Price lists of responsible companies. The amounts include the current 12% value added tax (VAT).
Let’s calculate specific model examples in South Bohemian Tábor. The entire block of flats has common water meter with a capacity of 6 m³/h (6 cubic meters of water per hour is the maximum flow at which the water meter must be able to work normally), while in the family house it is installed separate water meter with a capacity of 2.5 m³/h. The two-component price of water reflects the fact that a resident of an apartment building has a shorter pipeline than a resident of a separate building.
According to the price list of the Tábor waterworks, the entire block of flats will pay CZK 19,779.20 for the capacity of the water meter, which for 32 apartments means only CZK 618.10 for each collection point. Although the household in a separate house has a smaller water meter, the fixed component of the price of CZK 2,116.80 must be paid for by itself.
In an apartment building, the water meter is larger, but after calculating the flat rate among all the households there, each one will pay less than if they lived alone in a family house.
Pricing depends on the municipalities
Justice is a matter of discussion, which we can see quite vividly here. The single-component price of water is more advantageous for owners of remote houses, to which special water connections lead. They contribute to the maintenance of the network in the same way as the residents of the block of flats, which account for a significantly shorter section of the pipeline. The two-component price of water is more favorable for households in an apartment building, which will budget the flat-rate fee for the water meter among themselves. Who determines according to which formula the bill will be compiled?
Single or dual account? As a rule, the shareholders of the water plant make decisions.
The water company usually belongs to local municipalities and partly also to a private company that actually operates the water supply and sewerage system. Shareholders can decide whether a one-component or two-component water price will apply. However, their powers have strict limits, set by legal regulations. If they prefer a two-component water price, the fixed component may not exceed 15% of turnover.
| EXAMPLE: How does the water company determine the two-component price of water? |
| To simply illustrate the calculation principle, let’s imagine a hypothetical village. All 100 houses have the same water meter capacity and together take 15,000 m³ of water annually. The local water company has economically justified costs of CZK 1 million, and its profit amounts to CZK 0.1 million. The turnover of the water company is therefore 1.1 million CZK (justified costs + profit). |
| For a fixed price component 15% of the turnover is set aside, i.e. CZK 165,000. The flat-rate fee for the water meter therefore comes to 1,650 CZK (165,000 CZK / number of collection points). |
| On the variable component of the price CZK 935,000 remains (turnover of the water company minus the amount earmarked for flat rates). The price per cubic meter of water will therefore be 62.33 CZK/m³ (935,000 CZK / delivered volume of water). |
| Single component price of water would amount to 73.33 CZK/m³ (turnover of the water company / delivered volume of water). Two-component water price will be CZK 62.33/m³ + CZK 1,650 for the water meter capacity. |
Note: The calculation principle was explained to us by Ing. Pavel Peroutka, former economist of the Sovak water association for many years.
The two-component price of water is usually higher
As we saw in the example of a block of flats and a family house, the specific bill depends on the size of the property, or on the capacity of the water meter. However, averages are also informative for interregional comparisons. In the national context, residents of municipalities whose councils have approved the two-component option usually receive higher bills. Whereas a cubic (1,000 liters) of tap water normally costs CZK 123.06the average two-component price reaches 124.43 CZK/m³more precisely:
| Where | Water meter | Consumption | CZK/m3 |
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| Beroun | 610.40 | 13041.31 | 139.46 |
| Czech Budejovice | 983.36 | 8424.67 | 96.11 |
| Czech Krumlov | 1288.00 | 10905.28 | 124.56 |
| Hodonin | 1098.00 | 10221.01 | 115.63 |
| Hradec Králové | 2731.00 | 12733.92 | 157.98 |
| I cringe | 1904.00 | 11108.90 | 132.93 |
| Jindřichův Hradec | 1618.40 | 8274.90 | 101.06 |
| Carlsbad | 2497.60 | 9521.07 | 122.77 |
| Dusty girl | 1022.56 | 10465.74 | 117.36 |
| Sokolovskogo | 2066.48 | 11011.00 | 133.59 |
| Camp | 2116.80 | 10344.35 | 127.29 |
We quote the fee for the water meter in CZK/year, for consumption also in CZK/year and the resulting price in CZK/m³, including VAT. This is a model example, we are considering a three-person household that consumes 89.4 liters/person/day and has a water meter with a flow capacity of 2.5 m³/hour.
