Water rates 2026

How much do I pay in water rates for 2026? The level of your rates depends on your situation. For example: do you own or rent your home? How big is your family? Do you have a business? If so, you will pay water rates for that too. The amounts are determined each year and are known as water rates.

Water rates

Calculation example for rates. How much are the water rates in your situation?

Rate statement

The adopted water rates and the structure of the rates are set out in the Annual Plan 2026.

If you are unable to read the documents for any reason, please send an email to info@noorderzijlvest.nl.

Water-rates regulations 

The treatment charge is going up for everyone. What does that mean for you?

Families with an owner-occupied home (property value € 480,000):
2025: € 268.53
2026: € 318.81

Families with a rented home
2025: € 268.53
2026: € 318.81

Single person with an owner-occupied home (property value € 300,000)
2025: € 89.51
2026: € 106.27

Single person with a rented home
2025: € 89.51
2026: € 106.27 

What do the rates look like for each household category for 2026?

Families with an owner-occupied home (property value € 480,000)
2025: € 680.73
2026: € 712.83 (+ € 32.10)

Families with a rented home
2025: € 393.21
2026: € 447.92 (+ € 54.71)

Single person with an owner-occupied home (property value € 300,000)
2025: € 393.89
2026: € 400.98 (+ € 7.09)

Single person with a rented home
2025: € 214.19
2026: € 235.38 (+ € 21.19)

The treatment charge is going up for everyone. What does that mean for you?

Families with an owner-occupied home (property value € 480,000):
2025: € 268.53
2026: € 318.81 

Families with a rented home
2025: € 268.53
2026: € 318.81

Single person with an owner-occupied home (property value € 300,000)
2025: € 89.51
2026: € 106.27

Single person with a rented home
2025: € 89.51
2026: € 106.27 

Rate examples

Every year, you pay water rates to the water authority. On this page, we have outlined six different situations. For each situation, a calculation example compares the year 2026 with the year 2025. Select your situation:

Calculation examples for rates in 2026

How much money will the water authority spend on treating wastewater in the coming years?

In 2026, we'll spend € 43.0 million on treating water. This will increase to € 54.3 million by 2030. This means that the rates for the task of treating water will continue to rise in the coming years.  

How much money does Noorderzijlvest plan to spend in 2026?

The budget balances with net expenses of € 115.2 million (goods & services, capital charges, personnel costs). This is a 13.2% increase compared to 2025. On top of that, € 55 million will be spent on investments.  

Does the previously determined cost allocation of the water rates affect the increased rates?

The cost allocation has been adopted again because we're working with the new water rates system for water authorities as of 1 January 2026. Water authorities can make choices within legal limits: which category of rate payer benefits more or less from the work of the water authority?
At Noorderzijlvest, arithmetic averages have led to a different cost allocation:  

  • The Residents category (anyone who has a household in our region) pays a smaller share (was 30% and is now 28%).
  • the Developed category (everyone who owns property) also pays a smaller share of the water rates (was 56.6% and is now 54.45%)
  • the Nature category continues to pay the same share (0.25%)
  • the Undeveloped category (mostly owners of agricultural plots) will pay more (was 13.1% and is now 17.3%).

This means that while all rates are increasing, the rise is less steep for the Residents and Built categories.
For the Undeveloped category, the increase is quite significant. A family with an agricultural business with 80 hectares of farmland with a property value of € 720,000 will pay over € 2800 more in water rates to the water authority in 2026 than in 2025. 

How come the Undeveloped category has to pay so much more now?

Every five years, water authorities determine the cost allocation we've already described. This forms the basis for the water rates. This five-year cycle last happened in 2023. At that time, public interest informed the choice to have the Residents and Developed categories pay a slightly larger share of the water rates. As a side effect, the Undeveloped category paid significantly less for a few years.

With the transition to the new water-rates system and after the debate of the Board of Directors, a new cost allocation was chosen: residents and property owners pay a smaller share. Owners of undeveloped plots now pay more again. In other wordswe're correcting the imbalance that occurred before.

The allocation we'll be using from 2026 onwards fits better with the benefit principle, which is now the basis of the new rates legislation. The work of the water authority directly impacts the business operations of farmers.