Work on water is becoming more expensive

Core tasks are changing

The legal responsibilities for managing surface water and treating wastewater from households and businesses are changing rapidly:

• Climate change is causing sea levels to rise; an increase of 1 meter is now expected by the year 2100. We need to do more to stay safe from water: stronger dikes and more capacity to pump water away when necessary.
• The quality of surface water must be improved to ensure a healthy living environment. Far-reaching agreements have been made in Europe to this end. The task is enormous. The measures are complex. Water quality depends on many factors and sometimes takes a long time to improve. In addition to patience, investments are needed to make water cleaner and healthier: in the treatment of wastewater; in the use of (fewer) crop protection products along waterways; and in the more natural design of waterways to promote aquatic life and biodiversity.
• The requirements for treated wastewater from households and businesses are becoming stricter. Agreements are also being made in Europe for this purpose. Microplastics, drug residues, and other emerging substances must be thoroughly removed from wastewater.
• We are facing increasingly extreme weather conditions. To cope with these situations, we need to create areas where water can be temporarily stored before gradually draining it into the sea. At the same time, we need to try to retain water more effectively in order to combat drought.
• Our country has made nationally and internationally binding agreements to achieve climate targets. This means that we must adapt our work to emit far fewer greenhouse gases, generate our own energy, and increasingly reuse raw materials. 

Conclusion: the 'traditional' core tasks of the water authority require more effort in order to continue to fulfill its statutory duties. This inevitably costs more and more money.

Spreading ambitions over time

The executive committee realizes that these ambitions are far-reaching, extending well beyond the term of this administration. Not everything can be done at once. Choices will therefore have to be made: order of priority, planning, implementation deadlines, and the organization's capacity will require careful consideration. The executive committee aims to present a feasible and affordable implementation agenda for the coming years in February 2024.

Ambitions from the coalition agreement 'The value of water' that are now included in the Annual Plan are:

• Continue the Lauwersmeer area process with a view to the future of agricultural and nature development (freshwater-saltwater connection);
• Commitment to the process with the provinces to properly safeguard water management and interests in the National Rural Area Program;
• Active commitment to making water and soil more controllable in existing and new spatial developments.

Cushioning the rise in costs by using €2 million in reserves

All of this will lead to an inevitable increase in the cost of water-related work. In order to mitigate the tax rate increase somewhat, the executive committee wants to withdraw €2 million from the reserves for the coming year.

After drawing on reserves, the executive committee is proposing a 12.9% increase in water board charges for a family with its own home (with an average WOZ value of €480,000).
Given the major challenges we face in continuing to perform our statutory duties, a further (substantial) increase in rates is to be expected in the coming years.

Want to read the full annual plan?

The Annual Plan has been submitted to the General Board (AB). You can find the entire Annual Plan in the meeting documents for the informative meeting of the General Board on November 15. The AB will decide on the proposals in the Annual Plan on November 29.