Save on Sewer Fees

No wastewater fee is required for water that can be proven to have been consumed or retained on the property. Garden owners—both women and men—benefit from this in particular.

You have two options for this:

• You can record water consumption in the garden using a calibrated and sealed garden water meter. Those liable for fees must install this meter permanently at their own expense (Section 10(4) of the Contribution and Fee Bylaws to the Drainage Bylaws—BGS/EWS). Important note:
  For garden water meters, “permanently installed” means that the water meter must generally be mounted in the garden water line inside the house. Garden water meters installed on an outdoor faucet are only accepted if the building’s internal plumbing makes indoor installation impossible (e.g., a circulation line). In such cases, proof of the building’s structural configuration is required.
• Alternatively, you can have your garden water consumption factored in via a flat-rate calculation based on the size of the garden. This is possible for garden areas of 100 m² or larger, provided that the water for garden irrigation is sourced exclusively from a public water supply system (i.e., not from a private well or cistern).

For garden areas between 100 m² and 200 m², a flat-rate reduction of 10 m³ per year is available. For gardens 200 m² or larger, the flat-rate reduction is 15 m³ per year.

Important:

Any changes to the circumstances on which the fee reduction is based (e.g., a move, the elimination, or a reduction in the garden area) must be reported immediately to the drainage utility. Otherwise, you may be required to repay the fees!

Required documents:

• Application forms can either be picked up at the wastewater treatment plant or
  the download links under “Forms” in the “Payment of Sewer Fees” service. They must be submitted to the wastewater utility signed; the fee exemption will be granted upon receipt of the application and any necessary supplementary documents.
• For flat-rate billing, the garden area must be shown on a site plan of the property, at least as a rough sketch (see page 3 of the form).

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