'10-Year Freeze' on Incheon Water Supply Fees Ends Next Year... Increase of 150 Won per 1t

Incheon City will raise water utility rates, which have been frozen for 10 years, starting from usage in January next year.

The city's Waterworks Headquarters announced a legislative notice on the 20th for the "Partial Amendment to the Incheon City Water Supply Ordinance" to improve and rationalize the water rate system.

Accordingly, the Waterworks Headquarters plans to increase water rates by 14.5 percentage points each year over two years from 2024 to 2025. Currently, the water rate for using 1 ton of water at home is 470 KRW, but it will rise to 540 KRW in 2024 and 620 KRW in 2025, a total increase of 150 KRW. However, households with three or more children will receive a 20% discount on their water usage charges.

The Waterworks Headquarters projected that applying this amendment will increase the monthly water bill for a three-person household from the current 8,460 KRW to 9,720 KRW in 2024 and 11,160 KRW in 2025. Additionally, unlike residential use, the progressive rate system based on usage for general and bathhouse water rates will be reorganized into a single rate system.

The Waterworks Headquarters expects that this rate increase will generate an additional revenue of 105.7 billion KRW over the two years from 2024 to 2025. As of last year, the production cost of 1 ton of water in Incheon was 879 KRW, while the average selling price was only 644 KRW, resulting in accumulated deficits. Incheon’s water rates have been frozen for 10 years since a 6.1% increase in 2013.

An official from Incheon City Waterworks Headquarters stated, "Most metropolitan cities, including Seoul, have already implemented water rate rationalization, but Incheon delayed the rate increase from the second half of this year to next year to reduce the burden on citizens," adding, "The funds secured through water rate rationalization will be used for replacing aging pipelines and upgrading water purification facilities."

Panoramic View of Incheon City Waterworks Headquarters

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.