Wastewater fees rise in Reutlingen: You need to know!

The city drainage Reutlingen (Ser) will increase its wastewater fees from January 1, 2025. The municipal council decided on the new fees in November. This increase is the result of various cost increases, including expenditure for energy, auxiliary and operating materials as well as sewage sludge disposal. Wage and salary increases as well as an increase in interest rate level also play a role. In addition, necessary investments in the city's infrastructure are planned, such as the renovations of the sewage treatment plants in Betzingen and Oferdingen as well as the new construction of the main collector East and further renovation work in the sewer network.

The dirty water fee will increase from EUR 2.20 to EUR 2.70 per cubic meter, while the rainwater fee is increased from 0.60 euros per square meter of attached surface and year. For an average four-person household, this results in annual costs of 432 euros in 2025, compared to 352 euros in 2024. The rainwater fee also increases from EUR 79.20 to EUR 91.08, which represents a noticeable additional burden, such as [GEA] (https://www.gea.de/reutlingen_artikel ,-erh%C3%B6hinh-der-abwassergeb%C3%BCHREN-in-Reutlingen-_arid.6984617.html) reports.

Current situation of wastewater fees

The wastewater fees in the region must generally be calculated annually. This is necessary because legal regulations provide for the costs to be fully covered by the fees. For the year 2024, according to Nussbaum, the costs increase by a total of 690,000 euros to 3.15 million euros. For this purpose, the increase in maintenance expenses for rain overflow basins and the increase in the depreciation due to the upgrading of the sewage treatment plant are blamed.

for 2024, the dirty water fee is increased to EUR 2.81 per cubic meter and the rainwater fee to 1.35 euros per square meter. However, the fees are expected to stabilize in the following years, since the high maintenance expenses in the past were caused by legal requirements for the renovation of several rain overflow basins. The largest renovation measure, the rain overflow basin Hauffstrasse, is completed with costs of around 800,000 euros, and the sewage treatment plant is to be upgraded by the end of 2026, with the total costs estimated at around 19 million euros.