Beijing to Set New Water Prices

Beijing municipal authorities have decided to set quotas on residents water use and adopt a progressive water pricing system, China Daily reported.

Under the progressive fee system, residents pay one price for water until a certain amount is consumed. After that, the price goes up.

Chen Lintao, vice-director of the Beijing Municipal Water Conservation Office, believes price hikes may prove more effective than simply encouraging people to save water. Demand for water will drop 20 percent if the price is doubled, according to some estimates.

Other cities in China have been moving towards progressive fees. For instance, Dalian, a coastal city in Northeast China s Liaoning Province, charges 2.3 yuan (US$0.28) for every cubic metre of water if a households monthly water consumption is under eight tons. But the price soars to 10 yuan (US$1.2) per ton after that.