The price of water in Portugal can increase an average of 50% in the coming years. The forecast is advanced by sector experts, who consider the measure inevitable to ensure the sustainability of supply and sanitation, according to the Zap.aeiou news portal.
The need to review prices
The alert was left by Eduardo Marques, president of the Portuguese Companies Association for the Environment Sector that argues that current tariffs do not arrive to cover operation and investment costs and that an average increase of 50% in national rates in the coming years is inevitable.
According to Marques, about 65% of management entities are unable to finance the service only with revenues of invoices, depending on municipal subsidies. This practice creates the illusion of low prices, but transfers charges to taxpayers.
The solution, says the expert, is reviewing the rates on the rise, following the increase with the creation of social tariffs that protect families with greater economic difficulties.
Striking differences between municipalities
Water price disparities in Portugal are one of the most debated points. In Santa Maria da Feira, the cubic metro tariff reaches 2.77 euros, one of the highest in the country. Already in municipalities like leiros, the same consumption costs less than half, according to the same source.
According to Deco Proteste, in 2024 Santa Maria da Feira, he ranked 12th among the highest tariffs in consumption of 120 cubic meters and 3rd place in the 180 cubic meters.
Fundão and Oleiros illustrate the contrast well: for 180 cubic meters annually, the first county charges 776.74 euros, while the second only 316.26 euros, according to data released by the public.
Because water is not that expensive
Despite these differences, Eduardo Marques recalls that, on average, water in Portugal costs about 30 cents a day, the equivalent of one third of a coffee. “The perception that water is expensive results from total illiteracy about the service,” adds Alfeu Sá Marques, president of Águas de Coimbra, quoted by, recalling that water is seen as a free natural resource, when in practice it implies high costs of capture, treatment and distribution.
Most discrepancies may be due to the multiplicity of management entities: according to Ersar, there are 351 operators in Portugal, from city councils to private concessionaires, each with distinct tariff models.
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