A cubic metre of drinking water costs EUR 1.813 including VAT in Berlin, where the net rate has not changed since 1 January 2014. In Hamburg, Hamburger Wasserwerke has charged EUR 2.19 since 1 January 2026, after raising its price in 2024, 2025 and again this year. Germany has 5,599 public water supply undertakings, and each sets its own charges.
No national price, no national regulator
Germany has no national economic regulator for water. Private-law water prices fall to the cartel authorities of the 16 Länder, while public-law fees are checked by municipal supervision and the administrative courts. After its 2019 price comparison, Lower Saxony's cartel authority opened 25 proceedings, and 10 ended with suppliers giving legally binding price commitments.
What a household pays
In Baden-Württemberg, the Land cartel authority surveyed 84 private-law suppliers at 1 January 2025. A four-person household using 150 m³ a year paid EUR 515.95 on average, or EUR 3.44 per m³ once fixed charges are included. Destatis puts the typical household cost for wastewater disposal in 2025 at EUR 243.08 a year where only a volumetric fee applies, and EUR 368.72 where a base charge is added.
Why the bills will rise
The cost model works against stable prices. About 75% of water supply costs are fixed, while about 77% of revenue depends on volume. Household use fell from 144 litres per person per day in 1991 to 126 litres in 2022, so the same networks are paid for by fewer cubic metres. A study for the municipal utilities association VKU projects that water and wastewater investment must average about EUR 40 billion a year to 2044, against about EUR 10 billion now.
Which suppliers serve Germany's largest populations, where its water comes from, which projects are under way and what changes are coming are covered in the full profile. The full report, Germany Country Intelligence Profile, is available for USD 99. For a free overview, see Germany Country Snapshot.