Largest Dutch water company wants to charge more for "comfort use"

Vitens, the Netherlands’ largest drinking water company, is working on a plan to charge more for unnecessary water use. That includes watering the garden or filling a swimming pool in hot weather. “We are looking at how we can make comfort use more expensive,” a company spokesperson told De Telegraaf.

“We want to charge a basic rate for the water used for cooking, drinking, showering, and toileting for a household,” the spokesperson said. “Everything consumed on top of that will be more expensive.”

Last week, Vitens warned that the Netherlands’ drinking water infrastructure was reaching the limits of its capacity. The company had to put 45 companies on a waiting list for a water connection last year because it could not supply enough water to include them. The company warned that it may soon have to do the same for newly built homes in several areas.

Vitens does not yet know how much more it will charge for “comfort use” of water. The topic is on the agenda for the company’s shareholders meeting next week. The company hopes that making unnecessary water use more expensive will encourage consumers to be more sparing with this limited resource.