WATER PRICES look set to as much as double by the end of the year due to Cyprus’ obligation to comply with the EU’s Water Framework Directive (WFD), Cyprus Water Development Department (CWDD) director Sofoclis Aletraris said yesterday.

A briefing paper commissioned by the CWDD projects price increases of between 25 and 165 per cent, depending on which pricing model is finally approved by the Council of Ministers.

Aletraris told the Mail that the EU directive “obliges us to charge to recover our costs for water services”. He added that the target is for the new tariff to allow 100 per cent recovery of costs for drinking water, but “there would probably be room for a subsidy” of charges for water for farming use, as the directive allows consideration to be given to “the social, environmental and economic effects of the recovery”.

The CWDD is in favour of a flat rate being applied across the whole island, but the briefing paper also outlines an alternative scenario of pricing by district. Aletraris said that “a lot of people feel hard done by because they are paying much more for water in their district compared to others”.

The paper bases its indicative new domestic pricing on the example of a four-member family consuming 100 litres per person, giving a total consumption of 146 cubic metres per household.

Under the flat rate scenario, every household would pay €206.90 in 2010, derived from a single price of €1.15 per cubic metre plus €39 annual standing charge. In Nicosia this would be a rise of 25 per cent (from €165.54), in Larnaca 100 per cent (from €103.32), in Limassol 165 per cent (from €78.03) and in Paphos 122 per cent (from €93.10).

Prices would rise further to €241.80 in 2013, and finally to €270.32 in 2015, based on €1.42 per cubic metre plus €63 annual standing charge. This means that in five years’ time prices will have risen 63 per cent in Nicosia, 162 per cent in Larnaca, 246 per cent in Limassol and 190 per cent in Paphos.

Under the scenario of pricing by district, in 2010 households in Nicosia would pay €227.34 (up 37 per cent), in Larnaca €262.38 (up 154 per cent), Limassol €145.58 (up 87 per cent) and Paphos €240.48 (up 158 per cent).

In 2015, prices would rise further to €270.32 in Nicosia (up 63 per cent), €306.82 in Larnaca (up 197 per cent), €261.56 in Limassol (up 235 per cent) and €312.66 in Paphos (up 236 per cent).

Asked if the increases need to be this large, Aletraris said that the scale of the price increases and the basis on which they will be applied will only be decided after a public consultation exercise – involving domestic as well as commercial consumers – is carried out on March 22-24. But with the publication of the briefing paper, “at least now we know how much water really costs”, he added.

Speaking to state broadcaster CyBC, Aletraris said: “We should not scare people into thinking (the price of) water will be painful, that prices will be really prohibitive.”

He added that “the final decision on prices rests with the (Agriculture) Ministry. We will advise the ministry of our view, and the ministry will table a proposal on the final prices to the Council of Ministers”.

The Water Framework Directive

The EU’s Water Framework Directive (WDF), adopted in 2000, expands the scope of water protection to all waters – rivers, lakes, coastal waters and groundwaters – and sets clear objectives that a “good status” (i.e. within acceptable chemical and ecological parameters) must be achieved for all European waters by 2015, and that water use be sustainable throughout Europe.

Among other things, the WFD requires member states to develop water-pricing policies where all users – agricultural, industrial and households – contribute in an appropriate way. Also, reflecting the need to apply a consistent approach to issues like pollution along the whole length of big trans-European rivers like the Danube and the Rhine, it ensures that the polluter pays for any pollution.

According to the European Commission brochure explaining the WDF, “water is not a commercial product like any other, but should be seen as a precious heritage. …. Studies show that careful water pricing acts as an incentive for the long-term sustainable use of water resources and one study by the European Environment Agency found that introducing metering brings immediate savings in water use of an estimated 10-25 per cent of consumption.

Article 9 of the directive says that member states should “ensure by 2010 that water-pricing policies provide adequate incentives for users to use water resources efficiently, and thereby contribute to the environmental objectives of this Directive”.