Drought may lead to an increase in water taxes says water board chief
Water taxes are set to rise because of the drought, the chairman of the Dutch water board association UvW has told the NRC.
‘If this extreme weather continues, our costs will go up and that means water taxes will rise as well,’ Hans Oosters told the paper.
The drought and the sudden very heavy showers mean more work for water board staff, Oosters said. In addition, water boards have a role to play in spatial planning to cope with extreme weather in the future.
More needs to be done to store water for periods of drought and to absorb water during heavy rainfall, he said.
Water boards are charged with managing water resources, maintenance and water purification and set their own tariffs. This year taxes are rising by an average of 2.5%, compared with 1.8% in 2017
The 22 water boards in the Netherlands will announce their taxes for 2019 in the autumn.
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