As announced here, Vitens, the largest Dutch drinking water company, is set to increase its water price by an eye-watering 19% (pun intended!), raising it from €1.05 per m³ to €1.25. This final price includes VAT but excludes the "Belasting op leidingwater (BoL)"— an additional tax. For an idea of this tax's amount, you can find more details here.
"Like other sectors, we naturally have to deal with inflation. In addition, we will have to invest heavily in the drinking water supply in the coming years. This includes replacing and installing (new) pipes, looking for new locations to pump up groundwater and building new production locations where we purify groundwater and surface water into fresh and clean drinking water. All in all, this means that the price of drinking water will increase, so that we can ensure that clean and sufficient drinking water will continue to come out of the tap in the future,” says Tjeerd Roozendaal, chairman of the board of Vitens."
All the activities described are not starting afresh in 2025 but are ongoing initiatives. What is new, however, is their rising cost, driven not only by inflation* but also exacerbated by the housing boom.
Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you a fantastic year ahead filled with joy, success, and wonderful moments.
* inflation is the money supply growth, not prices denominated in money! Raising prices are just a consequence of the inflation, not the source of it.
