A majority of local councils think water rates will have to increase to pay for flood measures aimed at storing large amounts of rain water.

The research was carried out by the association of local councils VNG and civil engineering company Royal HaskoningDHV.

Of the 185 councils which took part, 80% said water rates would need to rise, with one-third saying the increase could be more than 10%.

‘If water rates do not rise, we will all have wet feet,’ HaskoningDHV’s Arnold Wielinga told broadcaster Nos. ‘Climate research shows that rain is likely to become more frequent and heavier. Councils need to be able to deal with that water and that costs money,’ he said.

The money would be used for underground storage tanks and flood plains, Wielinga said. ‘The flood plains could be used for sports such as basketball when it is dry,’ according to Wielinga.