Payment for water and sewage

Drinking water covers all water for ordinary household use; that is cooking, personal hygiene, toilet flushing, laundry, etc.

In the price charged for drinking water, water supply undertakings can include the expenses stipulated in the Water Supply Act.

These expenses include inter alia necessary costs for the extraction and distribution of drinking water, administrative expenses and provisions for new investments.

The price, also referred to as ‘the charge’, for water and for connection to the water supply network must be stated in the water supply undertaking’s list of charges.

All water supply undertakings must prepare a set of regulations which set out the relationship between the consumer and the water supply undertaking. The regulations must state the rights and obligations incumbent on the consumer and on the water supply undertaking, for instance the right to receive water and the obligation to pay.

The regulations also describe the services for which the consumer must pay.

Both the regulations and the list of charges must be approved by the municipal council and must be made available to the consumer on the company’s website.

‘Sewage’ means all water that is drained from residential properties, commercial enterprises, other buildings and paved areas.

Connected landowners must pay for the sewage services that they are entitled to receive. The sewage companies can include the expenses stipulated in the Sewage Payment Act.

The general rule is that the companies can only include expenses which are necessary in order to construct, operate and maintain the sewage companies’ sewage installations.

The price, also referred to as ‘the charge’, for transporting sewage to the sewage company must be stated in the sewage company’s list of charges.

All sewage companies covered by the Water Sector Act must draw up a set of articles of association, which set out the detailed rules concerning the payment scheme. The articles of association must be approved by the municipal council.

Landowners experiencing financial difficulties can get help in connection with decisions by municipalities concerning improvements to sewage treatment and waste water disposal by applying to the municipality to take part in a scheme which helps landowners, for instance by stipulating a minimum deadline for implementing the municipality’s decision and a right to ask the local sewage company for an instalment scheme.

This is done by completing an application form, which is available on the Danish Energy Agency’s website.

• Energistyrelsen – betaling for håndtering af spildevand (in Danish)

The Danish Consumer Complaints Board (Forbrugerklagenævnet) considers complaints from water supply undertakings’ private consumers and complaints concerning payments for the handling of sewage.

• Forbrug.dk – Consumer Rights in Denmark

• Water Supply Act (in Danish)
• The Sewage Payment Act (in Danish)
• Executive Order on instalment schemes, setting of deadlines for sewage handling and due date for the connection contribution (in Danish)