In Europe, the rich use up all the water and pay less for it: Report

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Politico
10 Aug 2023 16:49

Measures to limit the rich's water consumption are proving to be in vain because rich residents tend to ignore them, and authorities don't have the ability to enforce the rules.

Municipal employees load packages of drinking water to be delivered to the residents of Corbere-les-Cabanes, southwestern France. (AFP)

Near Frankfurt in Germany, the wealthy town of Königstein is home to around 98 people (out of the 16,700 residents) with annual incomes above €1 million, and those 98 households are consuming water more than the town's residents, prompting restrictions to protect drinking water supplies amid a regional drought.

One villa had been using 80,000 liters of water per day.

The mayor of Königstein said: "Water consumption is, in fact, completely unrestrained in some cases."

"People have completely forgotten that in Germany, you just don't have an English lawn. We have different climatic conditions. But people want to have it that way."

However, he claims that the measures are proving to be in vain because rich residents tend to ignore them, and authorities don't have the ability to enforce the rules.

According to Thomas Norgall, deputy managing director of the Hesse branch of German NGO BUND, increasing water consumption by wealthy households is causing tension between households and driving concerns in nearby towns that fear for their own supply.

It's not just in Germany. Châteauneuf-Grasse near Cannes in France made headlines after its wealthy homeowners were said to consume more water within a week than most of the commune’s residents would in a year. Most of the wealthy residents are foreigners.

120 communes across France are suffering the same matter of water scarcity, as Châteauneuf-Grasse's mayor Emmanuel Delmotte tells Le Figaro: "I have several private helicopters in my municipality. Someone who can afford to refuel their helicopter will not be inconvenienced to pay a €1,500 fine or double in case of recidivism,” adding: “And then the fine will not solve the lack of water."

National governments and the EU are being urged by local authorities to control water demands and usage with measures such as reconsidering water pricing systems and rethinking how drinking water is distributed between residential homes, industries, and agriculture.

Konigstein's mayor continues to argue that once a certain household uses up a certain quantity of water, the dramatically increasing water prices "make it clear that this kind of excess consumption is just not normal."

Drinking water is not for pools

Data by the European Environment Agency shows that almost one-third of Europeans suffer from water stress, which is expected to worsen as droughts become more of a norm with climate change.

A study published in the journal Nature revealed that “unsustainable water use by the elite can exacerbate urban water crises at least as much as climate change or population growth," which in turn should drive a change in consumption habits in drought-ridden areas. Nonetheless, environmentalists believe that it is still a structural issue and fixing it will need "fundamentally rethinking water consumption and emphasizing saving water much more," Norgall stated.

Elisabeth Kula, chair of far-left Die Linke in Hesse's regional parliament, highlighted the waste of "valuable drinking water" in "flushing toilets and in the ... pools for the rich."

Germany voiced its intention to save water as part of its national water strategy established in March, by integrating rainwater into water systems for non-drinking purposes.

Although Brussels is enforcing rules for freshwater resources protection, according to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), which represents civil society organizations and advises EU institutions, "existing tools remain fragmented" and are "not well integrated across all EU policies."

The EESC is anticipating presenting proposals for an EU Blue Deal, resembling the bloc’s existing green transition plans in October, while the European Commission needs “to start addressing water as a priority at European scale.”

Florian Marin, a Romanian member of the EESC, sees that creating an EU-wide approach to water prices is necessary to cushion the blow of water scarcity.

Water, he says, should be free to consume, but within certain limits, after which tariffs could be applied to regulate usage, and private households should also be able to benefit from lower prices than sectors such as the industry.

In most nations, including Germany and France, industries that use up a whole lot of water tend to pay much less than private households.

Marin added that Brussels should also set standards for each sector, not excluding private households, and stressed that drinking water should be banned for filling pools.

Emma Wiesner, an MEP with the liberal Renew group, voiced her agreement to start a Blue Deal, expressing that "water is a basic right for every citizen", while calling on the bloc to handle the matter "before more conflicts arise within or even between member states."