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The introduction of water charges for domestic customers in NI could have “a particular impact” on those living in rural areas, a consultation released by the Department for Infrastructure (DoI) has confirmed.
The consultation on water charges has been released in response to a direction from NI Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris, which told Stormont departments to look at options to generate income to ultimately improve the sustainability of local government finances.
It sets out five main options to charge for water and sewerage services provided to domestic properties in NI, including a flat charge, a charge based on capital value or on actual use determined by water meters.
With 829,000 domestic properties in NI, metering would require “a significant investment” of around £300m.
Billing system
Other issues covered in the consultation include how NI Water would put in place a billing system.
It currently has 80,000 non-domestic customers (including farms), so “significant upscaling” would be required if all domestic properties are included. One option is simply to include water charges as a separate billing line when rates are paid.
Other revenue
The consultation also looks at various options to increase revenue outside of new water charges.
Included within that is that the domestic allowance of 100m3 every six months be removed for non-domestic customers, along with the 95m3 allowance for measured sewerage customers. In total, NI Water estimates the allowance is worth £20.6m per year.
At present, NI Water also covers the cost of emptying a septic tank once per year. In NI, there are around 120,000 to 140,000 septic tanks and 42,000 were emptied in the 12 months to July 2023 at a cost of £1.72m.
However, where customers are charged for having septic tanks cleaned out while also paying for water and sewerage by way of a new system of charges, it could amount to “double billing”, acknowledges the DoI consultation.
Rural areas
In a document to accompany the consultation, which looks at the implications of new water charges in rural areas, a number of factors are highlighted which could mean rural people are adversely impacted.
The cost of living tends to be higher in rural areas, as there is less public transport, while average house prices are substantially (17%) above urban areas. If the capital value is used to calculate domestic water charges, then rural people will pay more.
The consultation is open for 14 weeks and closes on 13 March 2024.
In his letter to the permanent secretaries of all NI government departments back in September 2023, NI Secretary of State, Chris Heaton-Harris directed civil servants to look at options to raise revenue across a number of areas, not just water charges.
In terms of DAERA, he instructed the Department to launch a consultation on reducing the compensation rate for TB reactors and increasing CAFRE tuition fees to bring them into line with what is charged in England.
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