Current and Economic Price of Water in Serbia

In the context of this paper, the term “price of water” refers to the charges for drinking water supply and sewage services. The current price of water in Serbia is generally set at an affordable level and does not reflect the real costs. It varies from approximately 0.4 €/m3 in smaller settlements of less developed regions of the country, to approximately 1.0 €/m3 in some cities of more developed regions. Lower prices in some cases are the result of fact that these settlements do not provide sewage services (SS). The average price of water in the country is currently about 0.7 €/m3. This paper presents the current and economic price of water in Serbia, and its structure, from a sample of 34 public utility companies (PUC), which perform water supply (WSS) and sewerage services (SS).