In Fundão, residents with an annual consumption of 180 cubic meters pay a water bill six times higher than residents of Vila Nova de Foz Côa. Disparities are “significant” and there are no “valid justifications”.
Vila Nova de Foz Côa is the municipality where the cost of water is lowest, but in municipalities such as Fundão or Amarante, the cost can be up to six times higher.
In Amarante, anyone with a consumption of 120 cubic meters pays five times more than someone from Fundão.
The calculations are from , which analyzed water bills in all municipalities in the country, and discovered that there are “significant” differences without any type of “valid justification” in sight.
“O gap in amounts paid by the Portuguese in the global water bill is getting deeper”, communicated the platform, which provides an online tool to find out how much the average water bill costs in your municipality and be able to compare it with others.
In 2023, according to another study carried out by DECO, the maximum difference between municipalities was 376 euros, and in January. This year it could reach 600 euros (i.e. the disparity almost doubled).
Another example: in Amarante a resident pays 494,47 euros per year, if you consume ten cubic meters per month (i.e. second level) and in Vila Nova de Foz Côa you pay 94,09 euros.
The difference seems to be in the price of sanitation: the Foz Côa Chamber does not charge its inhabitants for sanitationhowever, this fact has raised “unsatisfactory” service reviews by the Water and Waste Services Regulatory Entity (ERSAR).
In Amarante, just for the water supply (207.93 euros/year), the municipality far exceeds what the inhabitants of Foz Côa pay for the same service (73.69 euros) and for the collection and treatment of urban waste (20.40 euros), denotes the .
Amarante, Oliveira de Azeméis, Ovar, Albergaria-a-Velha and Baião are the five municipalities where the global electricity bill 120 cubic meters is higher, and Fundão, Oliveira de Azeméis, Santa Maria da Feira, Amarante and Espinho are the municipalities with a bill of 180 cubic meters annual consumption.
Mariana Ludovinospokesperson for DECO, also told Público that “as reasons for these inequalities are unclearsince these are not just justified by differences in investments”, but there are “still few municipalities that offer rates adapted to large familiesfurther aggravating inequalities.”
Even so, explains the , DECO PROteste foresees that there will be greater tariff harmonization through activities of Water and Waste Services (ERSAR) from 2026.
