How much does 1 cubic meter of water cost?
A party at the pool – who would not dream of it. But how much water does a pool need? And: what does 1 cubic meter of water cost? We have researched and compared the tariffs with utilities and municipalities. Where the most expensive water cities are and where the cool water is the cheapest, we will show that now and here.
What is the cost of 1 cubic meter of water in…
In Germany, cities issue regulations and statutes on fees. It specifies what a cubic meter of water costs in this city. Anyone who compares and compares the fees and charges of the cities and municipalities will quickly find that there are extremely expensive and some very cheap water cities. In the table below, we have compared the water prices of selected cities and municipalities.
Comparison of German cities
City | Price for 1 cubic meter of water (gross) | Wastewater fee for 1 cubic meter of wastewater |
---|---|---|
Mainz | 1,780 € | 1,400 € |
Augsburg | 1,890 € | 1,420 € |
Düsseldorf | 1,895 € | 1,520 € |
Munich | 1,650 € | 1,560 € |
Stuttgart | 2,863 € | 1,690 € |
Würzburg | 2,180 € | 1,790 € |
Hamburg | 1,920 € | 2,140 € |
Fulda | 1,900 € | 2,150 € |
Berlin | 1,813 € | 2,210 € |
Borken | 2,470 € | 2,300 € |
Wiesbaden | 2,090 € | 2,320 € |
in Flensburg | 1,720 € | 2,330 € |
Wuppertal | 1,883 € | 2,960 € |
Mettmann | 1,951 € | 2,990 € |
Source: Information from the respective suppliers |
What is the price for 1 cubic meter of water?
Anyone who thinks that water prices can be compared as easily as gasoline prices is mistaken. Because the water price is made up of several individual prices, which add up to the water price of the city or municipality. So watch out!
- The price per 1 cubic meter of drinking water
Drinking water in this case is the tap water. The city’s waterworks supply this water directly to the house via a pipe. It does not matter what we use this water for – it is called drinking water, even if we use it for flushing the toilet. - The price per 1 cubic meter of dirty waterDirty water is all the water that leaves our apartment again. The municipal utilities make it easy for themselves and calculate the price per cubic meter of dirty water for every cubic meter of drinking water that we have received. The fee is used for the discharge of the waste water into the sewage network and the treatment of the waste water.
In addition to these two prices, there is a further surcharge, which we pay for the provision of the water meter. This price is added once a year – but can also be billed monthly. The price for the provision of the meter is determined by the size of the meter, which, in turn, is expressed in the flow through the meter. The annual surcharge must then be transferred to the amount of water purchased annually.
Example: How to calculate the price for 1 cubic meter of water
We set up our example for a family of four. We assume that this family consumes about 40 cubic meters of water per year. For the price calculation we have used average prices from the above water price table. So, your price may be slightly above or below, depending on which city you live in.
- For 40 cubic meters Potable the municipality charges 40 x 2.00 euros/cubic meter = 80 Euros Dues.
- For 40 cubic meters Sewage the municipality charges 40 x 3.50 euros/cubic meter = 140 Euro Dues.
- The Water meter is provided by the municipality with annual 50 Euros will be charged.
If you add up the three partial amounts, you get a total of 80 + 140 + 50 = 270 Euros for the 40 cubic meters of water. Now you can transfer the 270 euros to the purchased 40 cubic meters of water, so simply divide by 40. So, 1 cubic meter of water costs 6.75 euros. (= 270 Euro / 40 cubic meters)
The price of work – or what does 1 cubic meter of drinking water cost in Germany?
We are talking about the price of water for one cubic meter here. When we talk about the mineral water in the supermarket, it is always about the price for a bottle, that is, for a liter of mineral water. Whether 3 euros for a cubic meter of water is a lot or a little, you can argue about that. If we compare the price of mineral water with this, then we should smile, because the price of mineral water is many times higher than the water price of the municipalities.
The drinking water of our city costs and about 2 euros per cubic meter. That’s only 0.2 cents per liter! In the supermarket we pay 7 to 25 times the drinking water for mineral water.
How much water do we get for one euro? Our city provides us with about 500 liters of water for one euro. In the supermarket we get only 2-6 bottles of mineral water, depending on the variety. But the tap water is in no way inferior to the mineral water in terms of quality – on the contrary! That have Untersuchungen result.
If we go browsing in other countries, we will find that there are big differences. However, the high price of mineral water in comparison with tap water is present everywhere. Nevertheless annoying: Germany ranks 3rd in the list of the most expensive water countries in the world.
How much does dirty water cost – or what does 1 cubic meter of wastewater cost?
For the dirty water, the cities reach into the pockets of their citizens at different depths. The table above clearly shows this. The municipal utilities in Mainz are holding back commendably and are satisfied with 1.40 euros per cubic meter of wastewater. In Mettmann, the price for the wastewater is much dirtier: the cubic meter of wastewater should cost 2.99 euros there. That’s more than double for the same performance. If you are moving for work, you should also take a look at the fee schedule of the potential new home when choosing the future place of residence. It may be worth it!
What is the price per square meter for rainwater?
The city and municipality not only calculates the drinking water once provided as dirty water. The rainwater or precipitation water is also calculated as dirty water, after all, this water must also be discharged into the sewage network, discharged and cleaned. The larger the plot, the more rainwater accumulates here and is also billed by the municipality.
Here the municipality calculates a price per square meter of land area. In addition, the fortified area of the property and the so-called waterproof areas are also included in the calculation. The latter include, for example, the parking spaces in supermarkets as a sealed area. For private households, the area of the roof is included in the calculation.
The fee for the rainwater – the precipitation water fee – is between 0.65 Euro and 2.00 Euro per m2 of area, depending on the city. Every year you have to be able to expect a precipitation fee of 140 to 210 euros for a medium-sized single-family house.
How much does 1 cubic meter of water cost in Italy?
Everything is better in the land of pizza and pasta! No, it’s not, but by the water it is. In Italy, you only pay a third as much for water as in Germany. In China and India, water is the cheapest. Compared to the two candidates, Germany is about ten times as expensive.
Country | Price per 1 cubic meter of water |
---|---|
Denmark | 7,64 € |
Australia | 5,00 € |
in Germany | 4,63 € |
France | 3,94 € |
Kingdom | 3,69 € |
Czech Republic | 3,14 € |
Canada | 2,71 € |
Poland | 2,69 € |
USA | 2,57 € |
Japan | 2,21 € |
Portugal | 1,96 € |
Turkey | 1,85 € |
Spain | 1,84 € |
Italy | 1,56 € |
Russia | 0,86 € |
South Korea | 0,65 € |
Mexico | 0,59 € |
China | 0,39 € |
India | 0,12 € |
Source: Statista, Year 2011 |