Hidrológiai Közlöny, 2016 (96. évfolyam)
2016 / 3. szám - HISTORICAL SNAPSHOT - Papp Mária - Ritvayné Szomolányi Mária - Szalay Miklós - Nagy-Kovács Zsuzsanna Ágnes: Water supply in Hungary
22 Hungarian Journal of Hydrology Vol. 96. No. 3. 2016. The changing of utility service tariffs Following the law on the water utility sector coming into effect in 2011, municipal governments lost their pricing authority. Recommendations for official tariffs are made by the Hungarian Energy and Utilities Regulatory Office to the Minister responsible for the supervision of the sector. Taking the recommendations into account, the Minister establishes the tariffs applicable to the different water utility providers, water utility systems and water utility service providing activities in a decree (Fig. 11). Figure 11. Average water tariffs in Hungary, 2000-2012 (Note: Blue bar: national average water tariff; Red line: consumer price index, %; Source: KSH - Hungarian Central Statistical Office) According to the Water Framework Directive of 2009, the ceiling of affordability for water tariffs in Hungary is 2.5-3.5% of income. However, in less developed areas of the country, expenses spent on water exceed 5% of incomes. The situation is further worsened by great development programmes that are already in progress as well as restoration works that cannot be delayed any longer. It is impossible to significantly expand the water utility service with depressed prices. Service tariffs, parallel with the tariffs of other utilities, have risen gradually, which has also contributed to a drastic drop in water consumption. On the basis of statistical analyses, 70% of tariffs is fixed costs spent on operational expenditure and only 30% depend on actual consumption. Figure 12. Inflation and the changing prices of wa- ter/wastewater services, 100%-December 2001 (Note: Red line: Wastewater; Yellow line: drinking water; Black line; Inflation. Source: Hungarian Central Statistical Office) According to a statement by the Central Statistics Office, wastewater treatment tariffs have tripled in the past decade and water rates have doubled since December 2001 (Fig. 12). That is to say, both services have become more expensive, significantly above the inflation rate. ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABILITY The Agenda for Sustainable Development, which came into force on 1st January 2016, identifies 17 goals (Sustainable Development Goals - SDG) that determine the global development priorities to be achieved in the next 15 years. Among these goals, SDG 6 represents the availability of clean drinking water and sanitation for all. The approach targets not only third world countries but also the developed world, including Hungary and its closest environment: the Danube catchment area. According to a report made by the World Bank, the main area for the water sector sustainability is determined: it consists of twelve major activities, which are measured and compared to one another for each country (World Bank 2015). It is a very useful summary of the output that has been achieved in more powerful countries and the challenges to be overcome in the rest of the region. On the other hand, this report is an important milestone, as water services play a major role in achieving equality in society, which is the ultimate purpose of international trends. Access to services In Hungary, situated in the heart of the catchment area of the second largest river of Europe, the access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation is high, compared to the rest of the world. Though environmental awareness was not high during the communist era, water supply systems developed fast. By 2011, 97% of homes were connected to the public drinking water supply and drinking water quality in general conforms to national standards. Due to changes in recent years, fragmented water service providers merged, resulting in an important rearrangement, whereby the quality of service has further improved. However, the steady decrease of the population, especially in rural areas and remote towns, has resulted in an oversized infrastructure that lacks the financial means to maintain its service, let alone invest in development. Another important demographic factor is that, contrary to the other Danube region countries, the majority of poor people live in urban areas, where access to piped water is more widespread. Although almost 80% of the population in the Danube watershed use flush toilets, only 66% are connected to public sewage networks (Fig. 13). In Hungary, these values are 93% and 80% respectively, which is the result of development in waste water treatment that has shown significant improvement in recent years (e.g. construction and operation at the Budapest Central Wastewater Treatment Plant). In general, there is a close relationship between the use of flush toilets and the connection to public sewage networks. In the capital, the rate reaches 100% and the central and western regions in general have high representation as well. The situation is more challenging in remote rural areas of particularly small villages (100- 200 inhabitants). In the Eastern part of the Danube catchment area, the situation regarding waste water treatment is even more challenging, especially where waste water treatment has only recently been introduced.
