Beijing to raise tap water price in May

The cost of household water in China's capital will rise next month after Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform on Tuesday announced a new multi-tier pricing plan.

According to the plan, the lowest tier water price will rise from 4 yuan to 5 yuan per cubic meter from May 1, for households with an annual consumption less than 180 cubic meters, which covers 90 percent of households.

Households with an annual water consumption between 180 and 260 cubic meters will be charged 7 yuan per cubic meter. The water price for annual consumption over 260 cubic meters will rise to 9 yuan per cubic meter.

The plan was released following a public meeting on April 17 and tries to find balance between meeting the necessary needs of people and restraining waste.

Under the new pricing system, industrial consumption will increase 2 yuan to 8.15 yuan per cubic meter.

The price for major water consumers, such as purified water plants, car-washes and bath houses will see a great leap to 160 yuan from the current 61.68 yuan and 81.68 yuan per cubic meter.

Golf courses and ski resorts will also pay for 160 yuan per cubic meter.

"For those big consumers, we hope the new pricing system will push them to consider upgrading their facilities for water saving and recycling," said Liu Bin, deputy head of the Beijing Water Authority.

The capital's annual water consumption has reached 3.6 billion cubic meters, "which is at a huge environmental cost", said Liu. Beijing has suffered water shortages for a number of decades. The city has only 100 cubic meters of water available per person locally, or one-tenth of the United Nations "danger threshold". The current water pricing system was adopted in 2009.

The underground water level in Beijing has dropped 12.8 meters since 1998 with some 6.5 billion cubic meters of ground water overpumped, said Liu.

As the price rises, service must also improve, while keep information on water quality open to public. "It's the government's inescapable obligation to provide safe water to citizens," said Fu Tao, director of Water Policy Research Center at Tsinghua University.

The increased charges will be absorbed into a special fund for saving water and invested in water saving and improve public awareness on saving water.

The municipal government will also strengthen supervision on water quality and give awards to major water savers.