Why do you pay a pollution charge?
Does your business not have a connection to the sewer system? In that case, the wastewater ends up in surface water, such as a ditch or stream. You pay a pollution charge for this. The water authority uses this charge to treat your company’s contaminated water. This ensures that the clean water can safely return to the natural environment.
How much water pollution charge do you pay?
To determine your assessment, we look at the number of pollution units. A pollution unit is a measure of how polluted the wastewater is. For your business, you pay:
- 1 pollution unit for water consumption of 44 cubic meters.
- 3 pollution units for water consumption ranging from 44 to 218 cubic meters.
- 3 or more pollution units for water consumption of 218 cubic meters or more. We take into account the type of business you operate and the type of pollution entering the water.
Sometimes we need additional information to determine your assessment. You will then receive an invitation to file a digital return.
Preliminary and final assessment
Have you received a preliminary assessment? If so, you will receive a final assessment at the end of the year. GBLT determines this assessment based on the actual data for that year.
New Waterschapswet effective January 1, 2026
Effective January 1, 2026, a new tax system will be implemented under the Waterschapswet. This change to the law ensures that the burden is distributed more equitably and aligns well with current practices. This will enable us to continue covering the costs of water management in the future. We have summarized the most important changes below:
- Separate water system levy rates for residential and commercial properties
- Changes to the wastewater treatment and pollution fees for businesses
- Separate wastewater streams
Rates per water board
Click on your water board below to go to the rates page: