Study: Saxony needs billions in investment for water

According to a study, Saxony needs to invest billions in its water and wastewater infrastructure. Over the next two decades, around 34.6 billion euros will be required for the maintenance, renewal and climate adaptation of the drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, according to the Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU). It commissioned the study.

Around 13.7 billion euros of the forecast investment sum will be spent on drinking water supply and 20.9 billion euros on wastewater disposal. "On average, this amounts to 1.7 billion euros per year - the equivalent of around 8,500 euros per inhabitant by 2045," it said. This means that the investment requirement per capita is slightly below the national average (around 10,000 euros). It shows that extensive investments have already been made in recent decades.

Forecast: charges for water and wastewater to rise

The investment requirements are not the same as the actual burden for citizens, as the facilities and networks are depreciated over decades for the duration of their use and distributed among all user groups, it said. Nevertheless, the investments would also lead to rising charges for water and wastewater in the long term.

About 10 to 15 percent of the total sum is estimated for measures to adapt the infrastructure as a result of climate change - for example to deal with longer dry periods or more frequent heavy rainfall. The water industry is therefore facing a second major investment cycle since reunification, according to the association. "Maintenance and renewal, new legal requirements and climate adaptation measures are often intertwined and cannot be clearly distinguished from one another."

Florian Gräßler, Managing Director of the VKU Saxony regional group, said that although many plants in Saxony are still comparatively young, a significant part of the infrastructure is approaching the end of its service life. "At the same time, we need to make our grids and plants fit for the future - that means: climate-resilient, efficient and sustainable." Without long-term and reliable financing prospects, it will be difficult to make the water infrastructure in Saxony fit for the future.