Czech groundwater fee could rise 250%: what the committee decided

On Tuesday, the Agriculture Committee of the Czech Chamber of Deputies backed a proposal by ANO MP Karel Tureček to raise the fee for a cubic metre of groundwater used for public water supply from 2 to 7 crowns, an increase of 250%. For other types of water abstraction, the rate would go from 3 to 7 crowns. The deputies have not yet held a final vote.

An amendment without debate

Tureček tabled the change in a hurry on 20 October, attaching it to the bill on plant protection and pesticides. The amendment to the Water Act went through neither a separate first reading nor the usual interdepartmental consultation. In Czech politics, this device is known as a “přílepek”, a rider only loosely connected to the main bill. The Constitutional Court has struck down such provisions before because of their insufficient link to the legislation under discussion. Whether that reasoning applies here is unclear.

The government had counted on this money in advance. The agriculture ministry’s draft 2027 budget includes 2 billion crowns in groundwater fee revenue. According to the ministry, this is the department’s planned income, not the total take from the charge. On 8 October, the National Budget Council warned that this revenue is not backed by existing legislation and inflates the budget’s spending ceiling. The amendment itself appeared only twelve days later.

A dispute over speed and money

Tureček explained the rush by saying that politicians had put off revising the rates for years. “This is the result of twenty-five years of inaction,” he said, adding that the Water Act will be reopened next year anyway and any flaws can be fixed then: “But let’s do this now.”

Marek Výborný (KDU-ČSL), a former agriculture minister and committee member, supports raising the fee but criticises the methods. In his words, the actions of Tureček and the whole coalition show “signs of a certain arrogance of power and a desire to force the change through.” He proposed withdrawing the amendment and refining it, pointing to the bill on land survey and cadastral offices, which is currently at first reading. Výborný admitted that it would formally be a “přílepek” there too, but promised fast-track consideration once an agreement on dividing up the money is reached.

The main dispute is over distribution. Currently, regions receive half of the fees, and the other half goes to the State Environmental Fund. Under the new plan, six sevenths would go to the state budget via the agriculture ministry and one seventh to the fund, while regions would lose their share. The regional governors were not prepared for this.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz