FIGURES

WATERIN

2022DENMARK

IWAWORLDWATER

CONGRESS&

EXHIBITION2022

EXTENDEDEDITION

STATISTICS&

BENCHMARKING

2WATERINFIGURES2022

EDITORIAL

TEXT:CARL-EMILLARSEN/PHOTO:DANVA

WelcometoDenmark

T

heDanishwatersectorisanatural mainstayinsociety.Thekeyfigures fromthewatercompaniespresentedin“WaterinFigures,2022”placesDanishwatersolutionsinaleadingpositiononaglobalscale.ThiswillbeonexpoattheIWAWorldWaterCongress&Exhibition,beingheldforthefirsttimeinDenmarkinCopenhagen(11–15September).TheIWAcongressishostedbyDANVAandIWA-DKandisorganisedbyaunitedDanishWaterSectortogetherwithIWA,anditensurestheexchangeofwaterknowledgebetweenwaterprofessionalsfromtheentireworld.

Weexpecttowelcomeapprox8000delegates,exhibitorsandvisitors.

Globallyunique,inDenmarkwepumpallourdrinkingwaterdirectlyfrombelowground.Afterasimpletreatmentprocess,thiscoolanddeliciousgroundwaterisdeliveredtothetapsofourconsumerswithoutanyuseofchlorine.

“WaterinFigures,2022”showsthattheaverageDaneused105litresofwaterperdayinprivatehouseholds.Thisisanincreaseofonelitresince2020andfourlitressince2019.Thismodestincreaseinconsumption

isprobablyduetoshutdownsandmanyem-ployeesworkingfromhomeduringthecoro-naviruscrisis.Globally,however,theDanishwaterconsumptionisstillverylow,which,amongotherthings,canbeexplainedbytheever-growingawarenessofthevalueofdrink-ingwater,resultingfromtheDanishtaxandpaymentstructure.Thewatercompaniesarealsoveryefficientinreducingwaterloss.Asaresult,inDenmark,thereisalossofonly7.22percentofallthedrinkingwaterthatistransportedthroughthecountry’s45,000kilometresofdrinkingwaterpipes.Itisveryuniqueandaconsequenceofhighambitionsandworld-leadingsolutions.

TheWaterSectorinDenmarkhasastatedcommongoalofbecomingenergyandclimateneutralby2030.Thisgoalsupportsthena-tionalclimateagendaandhasacceleratedthedevelopmentandimplementationofgreenwatersolutions.Thekeyfiguresforthewatersector’senergyconsumptionshowthatthewatercompaniesarealreadywellontheirway.Theprimaryemissionsfromthewastewatersectorarefromnitrousoxideandmethanefromtreatmentprocesses,andtheutilitieshasachallengeandatasktoimplementsolutions

DANVABenchmarkingandStatistics

DANVA,theDanishWaterandWastewaterAssociation,isanindustryorganisationfordrinkingwatercompaniesandwastewatercompaniesinDenmark.DANVAisanon-profitassociation,fundedbyitsmembersandthroughcommercialactivities.

DANVAhasbeenofferingbenchmarkingtoitsmembersforalmost20years.Bench-markingisatooltoprovideanoverviewofthecompany'sperformanceandtoidentifyareaswhereefficiencycanbeimproved.ThereportingtoDANVABenchmarkingandStatisticsformsthebasisforthepreparationofthispublication.Intotal,77drinkingwatercompaniesand91wastewatercompanieshavereporteddatafrom2021to"WaterinFigures2022".Theparticipatingdrinkingwatercompaniessupplywatertoapprox.60%oftheDanishpopulation,whiletheparticipatingwastewatercompaniestreatwatercomingfromapprox.80%oftheDanishpopulation.

inordertofulfillnationalrequirementsand

overallclimategoals.

Reducingcombinedseweroverflowsis

anotherchallengeforDanishutilities,anda

lotofworkisbeingdonetoreducetheeffects

oftheseinthewaterenvironment.Thekey

figuresshowthatthenumberofcombined

seweroverflowstructuresarereduced,while

separateseweragesystemshasincreasedin

number.In2010,61%oftheDanishsewer

systemswereseparateseweragesystems,while

in2020therehasbeenanincreaseto68%.

Urbanwastewaterflowsintotheaquaticen-

vironmentthroughwastewatertreatment

plantsthatremovesnutrientsbeforeitisled

totheenvironment.Lessthan10%ofthe

totaldischargeofnitrogenintoDenmark’s

waterenvironmentcomesfrommunicipal

wastewater.Themajority(60-70%)comes

fromagriculture.Climatechangeincreases

thechallengeswithfloodingsandoverflows,

andinadditiontreatmentofmicropollut-

antsisanewtaskwhereDanishutilitiesare

workingtofindsolutions.InCopenhagen

congressparticipantscanmeettheDanish

watercompaniesandlearnmoreabouthow

weworktosolvethechallengesoftodayand

tomorrow.

TheIWAWorldWaterCongress&Ex-

hibitioninCopenhageninSeptemberisa

once-in-a-lifetimeeventinDenmark.DANVA

welcomesalldelegates,visitorsandexhibitors

andwelookforwardtoafantasticcongress.

Waterisandwillbethenaturalmainstay

insocietyinDenmarkandtherestofthe

world.

WATERPRICE

Howmuchdoeswatercost?

Thepriceofwaterisnotthesamethroughoutthecountry.Ontheonehand,therearestructuraldifferencessuchasgeologicalconditions,differentcustomerbasesandlargedifferencesininvestmentneeds,andontheotherhand,pricecompositionmayvaryfromcompanytocompany.“Howmuchdoeswatercost?”and“whydoesitcostwhatitdoes?”.ThesearetwogoodquestionswhichDANVAisoftenasked,andtheyarenotquitesoeasytoanswer.

Thelegislationstipulatesthatcompaniesarepermittedtochargeafixedannualadministrationfeeaswellasavariablechargeperm3ofwaterconsumptionfordrink-ingwaterandtheremovalofwastewater.Thepricingschemethereforehasamajorbearingonthecostofonem3ofwaterconsumed.Somecompanieslevyafixedannualbasechargeonwaterand/orwastewater,whileothersonlychargefortheamountofwaterconsumed,whichresultsinconsiderablevariationwhencalculatingthepriceperonem3ofwaterconsumed.Thefixedannualbasechargeispaidperhouseholdratherthanperperson,soifthehouseholdislargeandisusinglotsofwater,thefixedchargeonlyaccountsforasmallpartofthepricewhenitisrecalculatedintopriceperm3consumed.If,ontheotherhand,thehouseholdonlyhassmallconsumption,thefixedchargeperm3consumedwillbehigher.Therefore,whenreplyingwhatam3ofconsumedwatercosts,asetconsumptionamountmustthereforebeassumedinordertobeabletostatethecost.

Wecalculateanaverageprice,whichisthepricethatanaveragehouseholdwouldpaybasedonaverageconsumption.Inthisway,wecancomparethepriceacrosscompaniesregardlessofthepricingschemethatisusedbyeachcompany.

TheaveragepriceofwaterinDenmarkin2021,basedonanaveragehouseholdsizeof2.12peoplewithanaveragehouseholdconsumptionof105litresperpersonperday,stoodat€9.85perm3.Theaveragepriceperm3ofwaterforahouseholdwithsmallconsumption,forexampleasingleperson,wassomewhathigher,namely€11.06perm3foranassumedconsumptionof50m3.Theaveragepriceperm3forafamilywiththreechildren,basedonanassumedannualconsumptionof170m3,issomewhatlower,namely€8.84perm3.Theaveragewaterpriceroseby1.3%comparedtolastyear.

8.84

€/m3

11.06€/m3

Halfalitre

ofdrinkingwaterfrom

thetapcosts

0.50

cent

Howmuchdoes

yourwatercost?

AVERAGEPRICEOFWATERBASEDONCONSUMPTION,2021

€/M3

OnDANVA'swebsite,youwillfindanin-

teractivemap“WaterpricesontheMapof

Denmark”,whichshowsthewaterprices

chargedbythe200largestwatercompanies

andabout100wastewatercompanieswho

aresubjecttotheDanishWaterSectorAct.

Themapshowsthepricesofdrinkingwater

andwastewaterperm3aswellasthecostfor

householdswithanaverageconsumption

of50m3,approximately83m3aswellas170

m3.Themapcanbefoundatwww.danva.dk/

vandprispaadanmarkskort

9.85€/m3

Single-personAvg.Family(2.12persons)Familywith3children

households(50m3/yr)(81.34m3/yr)(170m3/yr)

Simpleaverage,basedon208drinkingwatercompaniesand97wastewatercompanies.ThepriceisinclusiveofVATandtaxes.Theaveragewaterpricefor2022,basedonthesamewaterconsumptionasin2021,isexpectedtobe€9.91/m3foranaveragefamily.

WATERINFIGURES20223

4WATERINFIGURES2022

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WATERCONSUMPTION

Waterconsumptionhasfallensince1987

InOctober1986,theTVAvisennewscastshowedpicturesofNorwaylobstersthathaddiedduetolackofoxygencausedbytheenor-mousdischargeofnutrientsintotheaquaticenvironment.TheybecamethesymboloftheintroductionofthefirstActionPlanfortheAquaticEnvironmentin1987.ThefirstActionPlanfortheAquaticEnvironmentrequiredsubstantialreductionsinnutrientdischargesfromDenmark’swastewaterandresultedinmajorextensionsandnewconstructionofDanishwastewatertreatmentplants.

FormanyDanes,thepictureoftheNorwaylobstersturnedintoaneye-openerforourim-pactontheaquaticenvironment.Theaquaticenvironmentcameintogreaterfocus,andwa-terwasregardedasaresourcetobeconserved. Waterconservationcampaignswerelaunched,andwater-savingtoilets,tapsandshowerswereintroducedontothemarket.Togetherwiththeincreaseinwaterpricesandtheintroductionofagreenwatertaxonpiped(tap)water,thishasentailedasteadydecreaseinwaterconsumptionsince1987.Waterconsumptionin1987stoodat172litres

perperson,droppingtoalevelofjustover100litresinthelastcoupleofyears.

Thegraphbelowshowssomeofthelawsandregulationsthatarebelievedtohaveinflu-encedthisdeclineinwaterconsumption.Atafirstglance,itappearsthatitwas,inparticular,thefirstActionPlanfortheAquaticEnvi-ronment,withitsincreasedenvironmentalawarenessamongconsumerscombinedwithanincreaseinthewastewatertariff,thatledtothedecreaseinwaterconsumption.Atthesametime,theinstallationofwatermetershadamajorimpactoncitizens’abilitytokeeptrackoftheirconsumptionandseetheeffectsofconservingwater.Arequirementwasin-troducedin1996foreveryonetohaveawatermeterinstalled,whichgavewatercompaniesagreaterinsightintoconsumption,wasteandleaksandenabledthemtocomputewaterlossfromthedistributionsystem.Thefocuswasfurtherintensifiedwiththeintroductionofapenaltyonwaterlossofmorethan10%.

Waterconsumptionin2021

Thetotalwaterconsumptionfor2021,divided

intohouseholds,holidayhomes,businesses,

institutionsandwaterlosses,stoodonaverage

at59.43m3perpersonperyear.Households

accountedfor69%ofthetotalvolumeofwater

sold.Anindividualusesanaverageof38.37m3

peryear,correspondingto105litresperday.

Thedevelopmenthasevenedoutdur-

ingrecentyearswithsmallfluctuations

andthereisanexpectationthatthereare

notmanymorewatersavingstopickupas

regardsphysicalinstallationssincetoilets,

showersandtaps,washingmachinesand

dishwashershavegraduallybeenreplaced

withwater-savingversions.Personalhy-

gienestillaccountsforalmosthalfofthe

dailywaterconsumptioninhouseholds.

105

litresistheaverageamount

ofwaterapersonusesperdayinahousehold.

CONSUMPTIONOFDRINKINGWATER,1976-2021

M3/PERSON/YEAR

Actionplan:AquaticEnvironmentI

Chargeonpipedwater

Chargedonemittedwastewater

Actionplan:

Aquatic

EnvironmentII

Actionplan:

Aquatic

EnvironmentIII

Watersector

reformact

fromWWTP

Requirement

Municipalreform

Contributionto

theprotection

forwatermeters

ofdrinkingwater

HouseholdsHolidayhomesBusiness(industry)InstitutionsWaterloss(NRW)

Since2014,anewcategoryof"holidayhomes"hasbeenintroduced,whichisfactoredintothehouseholdfigures.

1976-1998:Masterproject:ModellingofwaterdemandinDenmarkbyNanaSofieAar?e-datafrom14-30companies.

1999-2021:DatafromDANVA'scalculationsfor"WaterinFigures"—datafrom33-116companies.

Thestatementfor2021isbasedonstatisticssuppliedby72drinkingwatercompanies,whichtogetherserve3.636millioninhabitants.

WATERINFIGURES20225

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XXX

WATERCONSUMPTION

Evolutionofthehouseholdcostofwater

Anestimateofthecostofwaterandwastewatersince1985indicatesthatthecostrosesharply,inparticular,inthefirsttenyearsaftertheintroductionofthefirstActionPlanfortheAquaticEnvironment,whenallwastewatercompaniesweredevelopingtheirwastewatertreatmentcapacityandtreatmentefficiency.

Asregardsdrinkingwater,theexpenditureofdrinkingwatercompanieshasremainednearlyconstantconvertedto2021pricesthroughouttheperiod.Nevertheless,aleapcanbeobservedfrom1994to1998,inconnectionwiththegradualphase-inofthechargeonpipedwaterof€0.67perm3.

InadditiontotheimpactofthefirstActionPlanfortheAquaticEnvironment,wastewaterhasrequiredaconstantincreaseintariffinordertocovertheinvestmentsinclimateinitiativesmeanttoensurethebestpossiblewayofmanagingthegreaterrainfall.

Eveniftariffshavebeenrising,thisincreaseisoffsetbyafallinwaterconsumption,whichhascausedahousehold’soverallcostofdrinkingwaterandwastewatertoremainatanalmostconstantlevelinrecentyears.

Whatdrinkingwaterandwastewatercompanieshaveincommonisthattariffsgoupwhenwaterconsumptiondrops,becausealargepartofthecompanies’operatingcostsarefixedandthereforedonotdependoncustomerconsumption.Asaruleofthumb,70%oftheoverallcostsofanydrinkingwatercompanyareestimatedtobefixed,whilethispercentagegoesashighas85%forwastewatercompanies.

In2021theexpenditurefordrinkingwateranddischargeofwastewaterinanaveragehouseholdwas€801.21.

1000

800

600

400

200

0

Selectedregulations,nationalplansandreformsthathavehadanimpactonthepriceandwaterconsumptionofafamily:

?1987:ActionPlanfortheAquaticEnvironmentI-theplanwasintendedtoprotecttheaquaticenvironment,bothgroundwaterandsurfacewa-ter.TheActionPlanfortheAquaticEnvironmentgaverisetotheneedformajorconstructionandupgradingofwastewatertreatmentplants.

?1993:Taxontapwater(€0.67/m3)aswellasapenaltyfordrinkingwatercompanieswithawa-terlossofover10%,ActNo.492of30/06/1993(DanishMinistryofTaxation).

?1996:Taxforwastewater-ActNo.490of12/06/1996(DanishMinistryofTaxation).

?1996:Requirementsforinstallationofwaterme-ters-ExecutiveOrderNo.525of14/06/1996(DanishMinistryofClimate,EnergyandUtilities).

?1998:ActionPlanfortheAquaticEnvironmentII-theplanwasmainlyintendedtoreducenitrogenemissions.

?2004:ActionPlanfortheAquaticEnvironmentIII-furtherreductionofnitrogenandphosphorusemissions.

?2007:Themunicipalreformreducedthenumberofmunicipalitiesfrom271to98,resultinginthemergerofmanywaterutilities.

?2009:TheDanishWaterSectorReformAct-theseparationofmunicipalwaterandwastewatersupplyactivitiesintomunicipallyownedpubliclimitedcompanies(watercompanies)andtheintroductionofpriceceilingsandefficiencyre-quirements-ActNo.469of12/06/2009(DanishMinistryofClimate,EnergyandUtilities).

?2011:IntroductionofthedrinkingwaterchargebyActNo.1384of28/12/2011(DanishMinistryofTaxation).

AVERAGEHOUSEHOLDEXPENCES,1985-2021

€/YEAR(2021PRICES)

Actionplan:Aquatic

EnvironmentI

Chargeonpipedwater

Chargedon

emitted

wastewater

fromWWTP

Actionplan:AquaticEnvironmentII

Actionplan:AquaticEnvironmentIII

Watersector

reformact

Contributiontotheprotectionofdrinkingwater

Requirement

Municipal

forwatermeters

reform

Sharefordrinkingwatercompany

VATandtaxes–drinkingwater

Shareforwastewatercompany

Vatandtaxesforwastewatercompany

Anaveragefamily’shouseholdwatercostsarebasedon2.12personsperhouseholdandtheannualindividualwaterpriceandconsumption.Datafor1985to2008isbasedon32-50suppliersandfrom2009onwardson60-200watersuppliersand60-97wastewatercompanies.Changesareevidentonthegraphfor2008to2009.

6WATERINFIGURES2022

XXX

WATERPRICE

WatercreatesattractiveurbanenvironmentsasseenhereinthecentreofAarhus.Photo:Colourbox.dk/MikkelVogn?s

Whyaretheredifferencesinthewaterprice?

Thepriceofwaterdependsonwhichwatercompanyyouareaffiliatedwith.Therearemorethan2,500waterutilitiesand98waste-waterutilitiesinDenmark.Contactyourlocalwatercompanytogetyourwaterprices.

Thepriceofdrinkingwatercoversthecostofgroundwaterprotection,abstraction,processinganddistributionofdrinkingwa-terfromthewaterworkstocustomers.Thepriceofwastewatercoverstheoperationandmaintenance,renovationandextensionofthesewernetwork,climate-proofing,operationandmaintenanceoftreatmentplantsaswellascheckstoensurecompliancewithdischargerequirements.

Whydoesthepriceofwatervary?

Thereisaspreadbetweenthelowestandthehighestpricesamongthewatercompanies.Thedifferenceintheoverallpricesmaybeowingtoseveralcircumstances:

?Itmaybecomparativelylessexpensivetosupplymajorindustrialconsumersthan

smallcustomers,suchasholidayhomes.

?Geologicalconditionsmaymakeitmoreexpensiveorcheapertocollectwaterfrombelowground.

?Geographicdifferences,wherelargedis-tancesbetweenconsumerssignifylongerpipes.

?Insomeplaces,groundwaterpollutionandscarcityofwaterresourcesmaymeaninvestinginnewsourcesitesforwaterex-traction.

?Somedrinkingwatercompaniesspendmorethanothersongroundwaterprotec-tion.Othercompaniesare"bornlucky”,astheirwaterabstractionsitesarealreadyinprotectednaturalareas.

?Thetreatmentrequirementsforwastewaterdepend,inparticular,onthenaturalsettingofthepointofdischargeforthetreatedwater.Requirementsareoftenhigherfordischargetovulnerablerecipientsinfresh-waterareasthanfordischargeintothesea.

?Decentralisedwastewatertreatmentin

smallerplantsisusuallymoreexpensive

thancentralwastewatertreatmentatlarger

ones.

?Environmentalconditionsrequiringaddi-tionalmeasures.

?Thereisasignificantdifferenceinthelevelofinvestmentfromcompanytocompany.Currently,manycompaniesareinvestinginnewclimatemeasuresinordertorespondtotheincreaseinrainvolumes.

?Theolderaplantis,themoremaintenanceitrequires.

?Differencesinthelevelofservicearede-terminedbythemunicipalitiesand/orthe

companiesthemselves.

Thewaterpriceconsistsofatotalof

fiveelements:

?Fixedchargefordrinkingwater(ifany)

?Cubicmetrepricefordrinkingwater

?Fixedchargeforwastewater(ifany)

?Cubicmetrepriceforwastewater

?VATandothertaxes

WATERINFIGURES20227

XXX

Waterpricecomposition

Theaveragewaterpricecanbesplitintothepartchargedbythedrinkingwatercompanyandthepartchargedbythewastewatercom-pany,plusVATandothertaxes,suchastaxonpiped(tap)waterandwastewatertax.Outofthetotalwaterpriceof€9.85perm3,18.0%gotothedrinkingwatercompany,52.4%tothewastewatercompany,while29.6%gototheStateintheformofVATandothertaxes. Splittingthetotalwaterpriceintopricesfordrinkingwaterhencewastewater,thepriceofdrinkingwatercomprises33.3%ofthetotalaveragewaterprice.Thiscorrespondstoapriceof€3.28outofwhich€1.51isVAT

andothertaxes.Wastewatermakesup66.7%ofthetotalaveragewaterprice,correspond-ingto€6.57outofwhich€1.40isVATandothertaxes.

34%ofthedrinkingwatercompanies’in-comecomesfromfixedcharges,while66%comesfromcubicmetreprices.93%ofallwatercompaniesapplyfixedcharges.

Theincomeofwastewatercompaniesissplitwith12%comingfromfixedchargesand88%fromcubicmetreprices.63%ofallwastewatercompaniesapplyfixedcharges.

COMPOSITIONOFWATERPRICES,2021

Taxes(drinkingwater)

Taxes(wastewater)

0.86€/m3

0.09€/m3

Shareforthe

drinkingwater

company

1.77€/m3

Amountfordrinkingwater

3.28€/m3

Shareforthe

wastewater

company

5.17€/m3

Amountforwastewaterwater

6.57€/m3

VAT

(drinkingwater)

0.66€/m3

VAT

(wastewater)

1.31€/m3

WATERPRICE

Wastewater

discount

tolarge

consumers

BasedonagrowthplanadoptedinApril2013,apoliticaldecisionwasmadetointroduceawastewaterdiscountschemeformajorindustrialconsumers.Thedis-countscheme,termedthethree-steptariffsmodel(anincrementalmodel),wasphasedinfrom2014to2018andisbasedon3incrementallevels:

?Level1isthewastewatercompanies'regulartariffforthedischargeandtreatmentofwastewaterfromhouse-holdsandbusinesses.

?Level2entailsa20%discountontheLevel1tariffforwaterconsumptionofbetween500and20,000m3.

?Level3providesa60%discountontheLevel1tariffonwaterconsumptionover20,000m3ofwater.

Thethree-steptariffsmodelhasaffectedthewastewatercompaniesinvaryingways.Ithasbeenparticularlyimpor-tantforthosewastewatercompaniesthathaveagreaterproportionoflargebusinesscustomersusinglotsofwaterandhavethereforehadtogivediscountsonalargepartoftheirincomebase.Thepoliticaldecisionassumedthatthedis-countwouldbecoveredbygreatereffi-ciencies,butexperienceindicatesthatresidentspaidforsomeofthediscount,asthetariffsforLevel1haverisenmorethantheaverageforthecompanies'largeindustrialcustomers.

8WATERINFIGURES2022

WATERPRICE

ThecoveredwastewatertreatmentplantinHiller?dblendsdiscreetlyinwithitssurroundings.Photo:Hiller?dForsyning,DorteTuladhar

WATERINFIGURES20229

PHOTO:COLOURBOX.DK

1000

800

600

400

200

0

WATERPRICE

Only1.41%oftheincomespendonwaterandwastewater

TheUN’sUNDPDevelopmentProgrammerecommendsthatnomorethan3%ofthegrossincomeofahouseholdshouldbespentoncleandrinkingwaterandnomorethan5%ondrinkingwaterandwastewater.AccordingtoStatisticsDenmark(FU09),theaverageDanishhouseholdgrossincomefor2020stoodat€89,184,whilethedisposableincomeofanaveragefamilystoodat€62,075.AccordingtoStatisticsDenmark,anav-eragefamilyspends€606oftheirgrossincomeonwaterandwastewater.

AHOUSEHOLD’SANNUALLIVINGEXPENSES—SELECTEDCATEGORIES

Shareofafamily'sconsump-

tion:

Dentalservices

0.82%

Wastedisposal

0.88%

Fastfood/takeaway

1.37%

Drinkingwaterandwaste-water

1.41%

TelephonyandInternet

1.78%

Petrolanddiesel

1.85%

Electricity

2.06%

Clothing

3.58%

Districtheating

3.16%

Insurance

4.99%

Datafromstatistikbanken.dk/FU02—datafor2020.Theexamplecoversanaveragefamilywithaconsumptionof€42,836.

Thehouseholdwatercost

remainsatthesamelevel

Thehousehold'swatercostfordrinkingwaterandwastewaterfor2021foranaverageDanishfamilyof2.12people,withanaveragewaterconsumptionof105litresperpersonperday,correspondingtoaconsumptionof81.34

m3peryear,stoodat€808.21.Ingeneral,anaveragefamilyhousehold'sexpenditureonwaterandwastewaterhasbeenataverystablelevelformanyyearsnow.

AVERAGEHOUSEHOLD’SEXPENSES,2007-2021

€/M3(2021PRICES)

200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021

DrinkingwaterWastewaterVATandtaxes

Theestimateisforanaveragefamilyof2.12personswithanaverageconsumptionof38.77m3peryearperperson.

10WATERINFIGURES2022

THEWATERSECTOR

Sources:

1:Milj?styrelsen:Punktkilder2020

2:GEUS:Grundvandsoverv?gning1989-20203:Forsyningssekretariatet-Benchmarking20204:DanmarksStatistikandGeodatastyrelsen

5:DANVABenchmarking

TEXT:JENSPLESNER,THOMASS?RENSENANDMADSVOLQUARTZ,DANVA/ILLUSTRATION:JTO,THOMASS?RENSENANDMADSVOLQUARTZ,DANVA

Drinkingwatersoldtocustomers5:

Approx.310millionm3

Totaldistributionnetworkfordrinkingwater5:

60,000km

Numberofwaterworks

inDenmark2:

Approx.2,600

Municipallyownedwatercompanies5:

87

Waterworksownedbymunicipalwatercompanies5:

Approx.340

Ownwatersupplyto

individualhouseholds2:

Approx.50,000

THE

DANISH

WATER

SECTOR

AlldrinkingwaterinDenmarkcomesfromgroundwater,with

theexceptionofasmalldesalinationplantonChristians?.The

watersectorhasadecentralisedstructureandconsistsofsome

2,600waterworksand701wastewatertreatmentplants.

Volumeofwater

(drinkingwater)abstracted2:Bygeneralwaterworks:

379millionm3

Commercialirrigation:

239millionm3

Companieswith

ownabstraction:

51millionm3

Surfacewater:

18millionm3

TheWaterSectorActincludes226drinkingwatercompanies,

whichtogetherin2021soldapprox.274millionm3water.In2021,

thecompaniesturnedoverapprox.€661.2million,hadoperating

costsof€203millionandmadeinvestmentstotalling€282

million.TheWaterSectorActcoversatotalof109wastewater

companies,whichin2021togethertreatedapprox.282million

m3watersoldfromtheircatchmentareas.Theyhadaturnover

ofapprox.€1.29billion,investedsome€827millionandhad

operatingcostsof€448million.

WATERCOMPANIESarebasedonthebreak-evenprinciple

Asarule,thewatersectorisbasedontheso-calledbreak-evenprinciple.Thismeansthatawatercompany'sexpenditureandincomemustbalance,measuredoveranumberofyears.Watercompaniesare100%financedthroughtariffs,andallactivities,investmentsandoperatingcostsarepaidbythecustomers.

However,topreventsocio-economicwasteandstimulatedevelopment,innovationandclimate-friendlyenergyproduction,watercompaniesarepermitted,inadditiontotheirwaterandwastewateractivities,tosellservices,residuesandenergywithacertainprofit,providedthatsuchsaleiscloselylinkedtothe