Germany: Four-person water charge in Berlin is €349 per year

GERMAN HOMEOWNERS have a long list of bills to pay every month, starting with water and refuse charges and ending with bills for cleaning the street (dirt and snow) and even lighting the street lamp outside their door.

Payments do not go to central government or local authority in the form of rates. Instead, residents deal directly with waste, water and other utility companies.

While consumers can choose their electricity, gas and telephone providers, water companies remain monopolies in their respective regions.

Among the big cities, Munich’s water is among the cheapest at €1.58 per cubic metre (or M3 equalling 1,000 litres). Berliners pay 28 per cent more – €2.027 – which is among the most expensive water in Germany.

Berliners use an average of 42 M3 annually, according to the local water company, giving a four-head household price of €349 for drinking water alone.

Water meters have been a fact of life for decades, and usage is increasingly monitored through radio transmitter meters.

Germans also pay for sewage and even for the cost of rainwater disposal through the sewerage system, based on the size of their property.

With over 6,000 water companies, hair-raising price differences are common and the German media is increasingly reporting on water wars between companies and residents.

In the eastern state of Saxony residents can pay up to eight times more for water than in neighbouring Bavaria.

Despite widespread media reports of price differentials, civil disobedience remains a local phenomenon. Residents of the western village of Reiskirchen in Hesse have taken their water provider to court for charging 44 per cent more for water than in neighbouring villages.

The eastern village of Hartenberg has Germany’s most expensive water: the local provider says the high cost of maintaining the infrastructure to the rural community justifies the €57.52 per M3 charge. Those in nearby municipalities pay €1.61 per M3 on average.

“The company exploits their monopoly rigorously,” said Kathrin Bornholmer, a local woman in Hartenberg.

“It’s immoral to think it’s cheaper to wash the dishes with bottled rather than tap water.”

Germany’s water and energy lobby group BDEW maintains that Germans pay similar prices for water as others in Europe.

Many experts, however, say that Germany has some of the highest water prices in Europe.

Refuse collection can be another source of tension regarding German household charges.

Hundreds of companies are competing for contracts with municipal authorities for recyclable household packaging – a market worth €10 billion annually.

“For most Germans the household charges aren’t a big issue,” said Simone Wander of the Federal Consumer Association.

“Even when the charges are high, consumers have little chance to influence prices. The price structures are often complex and everyone needs these services.”