Make water meters mandatory

The Bavarian state parliament has voted on an amendment from the SPD parliamentary group to the planned new water abstraction fee (“water cent”). The application stipulated that in future water withdrawals would generally have to be recorded using technical measuring devices, in particular water meters, and referred to a draft law by the state government to amend the Bavarian Water Act. According to the SPD's proposal, companies, farms and other larger water abstractors should measure and document their actual withdrawal quantities. Exceptions should only be possible if installation would be technically impossible or disproportionately expensive. In such cases, a comprehensible replacement procedure should be used. The SPD justified the application by saying that the planned water extraction fee could only be levied “justly, fairly, easily and sustainably” if the actual amount of water was measured. The SPD also pointed out that private households have long been billing their water consumption via water meters. The same principle should therefore apply to larger commercial or agricultural extractors. In addition, precise measurements could help to better monitor water resources and manage them more sustainably. The amendment was rejected with 126 votes against. 37 MPs voted in favor and there were no abstentions. An amendment from the SPD parliamentary group to ensure public water supply was also voted on by roll call. Accordingly, water withdrawals for the purpose of public drinking water supply should have priority over withdrawals for other purposes. This amendment was rejected by 14 votes in favor to 149 against.