A draft Czech law would charge towns almost 5bn CZK a year for rainwater

Each bill depends on the size of every roof and road, and today owners mostly fill that in themselves.2 sourcesvodovody-vm.czVaK Vysoké Mýto — how an operator computes the charge today (another site)A mid-size operator's own instructions: annual rainwater volume equals the sum of the customer's reduced areas times the long-term rainfall normal, from surface categories the customer declares and must keep…News · Market checkusys.czCzech check — billing engines exist, the measuring does not (another site)Five Czech query shapes, an English one, the state contracts register in full text and the business register: the billing systems that invoice the charge are named, no Czech vendor sells the surface mapping,…Market check · Measuring the surfaces of just one town has cost over 1M CZK (which is way too much!).Registr smluvsmlouvy.gov.czKolín — a register of the surfaces liable for the rainwater charge (another site)What one Czech city paid its water operator in 2019 for a one-off register of the surfaces already liable for the rainwater charge — the manual equivalent of the product, priced.Price ·

Good for Someone who can map from aerial photos and would like to work with sewer operators.

Draft law Draft change to the Czech water-utilities law, still out for comment.VeKLEPodok.czThe bill itself in the legislative library (another site)The government bill amending the Water Act and the water-utilities act, submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture and in the inter-ministerial comment procedure since 27 August 2026.In the source’s words“Návrh zákona, kterým se mění zákon č. 254/2001 Sb., o vodách a o změně některých zákonů (vodní zákon), ve znění pozdějších předpisů, a další související zákony — Návrh zákona se předkládá podle Plánu legislativních prací vlády na…”Regulation · Based on a law that is not passed yet, so this may change.

Category
Environment
Entry
Hard
Verified

The opportunity

2/2 · Clear, recurring pain

A draft law would charge owners of roads and homes for rainwater, and every bill depends on how much roof and paving they own.2 sourcesVeKLEPodok.gov.czDraft amendment to the water-utilities act — every rainwater exemption deleted (another site)The agriculture ministry draft deletes the paragraph that exempts roads, railways, cemeteries and homes from paying for rainwater discharged to a public sewer; its impact assessment prices the new bill at…In the source’s words“Jedná se o roční dopady ve výši téměř 5 mld. Kč na rozpočty obcí v souvislosti s odváděním srážkových vod z komunikací, dopady ve výši téměř 0,5…”Regulation · vodovody-vm.czVaK Vysoké Mýto — how an operator computes the charge today (another site)A mid-size operator's own instructions: annual rainwater volume equals the sum of the customer's reduced areas times the long-term rainfall normal, from surface categories the customer declares and must keep…News ·

  • Towns would owe almost 5bn CZK a year for roads, regions almost 0.5bn.VeKLEPodok.gov.czDraft amendment to the water-utilities act — every rainwater exemption deleted (another site)The agriculture ministry draft deletes the paragraph that exempts roads, railways, cemeteries and homes from paying for rainwater discharged to a public sewer; its impact assessment prices the new bill at almost 5bn CZK a year for municipalities and about 0.5bn for regions, effective July 2027.In the source’s words“Jedná se o roční dopady ve výši téměř 5 mld. Kč na rozpočty obcí v souvislosti s odváděním srážkových vod z komunikací, dopady ve výši téměř 0,5 mld. na rozpočty krajů v souvislosti s úhradou srážkových vod ze silnic II. a III. třídy”Regulation ·
  • Sewer operators mostly bill from areas their customers declare themselves.2 sourcesvodovody-vm.czVaK Vysoké Mýto — how an operator computes the charge today (another site)A mid-size operator's own instructions: annual rainwater volume equals the sum of the customer's reduced areas times the long-term rainfall normal, from surface categories the customer declares and must keep…News · Market checkusys.czCzech check — billing engines exist, the measuring does not (another site)Five Czech query shapes, an English one, the state contracts register in full text and the business register: the billing systems that invoice the charge are named, no Czech vendor sells the surface mapping,…Market check ·
  • The water industry asked in 2020 for roads and homes to pay too.ivodarenstvi.cziVodárenství — water industry asks to scrap the exemptions (another site)The water industry, through František Barák, argues in 2020 that households and roads pay nothing for the rainwater they send to the sewer and that scrapping the exemption would spare residents a rise in sewerage charges.News ·

Suggested solution

Build a service that measures roofs and paving from aerial photos and gives sewer operators a ready billing file, as 2 companies already do in Germany.

Why now

1/3 · Soft deadline

If the draft passes, sewer operators would have to bill roads and homes from July 2027, and towns would pay.2 sourcesVeKLEPodok.gov.czDraft amendment to the water-utilities act — every rainwater exemption deleted (another site)The agriculture ministry draft deletes the paragraph that exempts roads, railways, cemeteries and homes from paying for rainwater discharged to a public sewer; its impact assessment prices the new bill at…In the source’s words“Jedná se o roční dopady ve výši téměř 5 mld. Kč na rozpočty obcí v souvislosti s odváděním srážkových vod z komunikací, dopady ve výši téměř 0,5…”Regulation · VeKLEPodok.czThe bill itself in the legislative library (another site)The government bill amending the Water Act and the water-utilities act, submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture and in the inter-ministerial comment procedure since 27 August 2026.In the source’s words“Návrh zákona, kterým se mění zákon č. 254/2001 Sb., o vodách a o změně některých zákonů (vodní zákon), ve znění pozdějších předpisů, a další…”Regulation ·

  • A sewer operator would have to bill roads and homes it never billed.2 sourcesVeKLEPodok.gov.czDraft amendment to the water-utilities act — every rainwater exemption deleted (another site)The agriculture ministry draft deletes the paragraph that exempts roads, railways, cemeteries and homes from paying for rainwater discharged to a public sewer; its impact assessment prices the new bill at…In the source’s words“Jedná se o roční dopady ve výši téměř 5 mld. Kč na rozpočty obcí v souvislosti s odváděním srážkových vod z komunikací, dopady ve výši téměř 0,5…”Regulation · vodovody-vm.czVaK Vysoké Mýto — how an operator computes the charge today (another site)A mid-size operator's own instructions: annual rainwater volume equals the sum of the customer's reduced areas times the long-term rainfall normal, from surface categories the customer declares and must keep…News ·
  • A town would pay for rainwater off every local road, from its budget.VeKLEPodok.gov.czDraft amendment to the water-utilities act — every rainwater exemption deleted (another site)The agriculture ministry draft deletes the paragraph that exempts roads, railways, cemeteries and homes from paying for rainwater discharged to a public sewer; its impact assessment prices the new bill at almost 5bn CZK a year for municipalities and about 0.5bn for regions, effective July 2027.In the source’s words“Jedná se o roční dopady ve výši téměř 5 mld. Kč na rozpočty obcí v souvislosti s odváděním srážkových vod z komunikací, dopady ve výši téměř 0,5 mld. na rozpočty krajů v souvislosti s úhradou srážkových vod ze silnic II. a III. třídy”Regulation ·
  • Homeowners whose roofs drain to a public sewer would start paying.2 sourcesVeKLEPodok.gov.czDraft amendment to the water-utilities act — every rainwater exemption deleted (another site)The agriculture ministry draft deletes the paragraph that exempts roads, railways, cemeteries and homes from paying for rainwater discharged to a public sewer; its impact assessment prices the new bill at…In the source’s words“Jedná se o roční dopady ve výši téměř 5 mld. Kč na rozpočty obcí v souvislosti s odváděním srážkových vod z komunikací, dopady ve výši téměř 0,5…”Regulation · vodovody-vm.czVaK Vysoké Mýto — how an operator computes the charge today (another site)A mid-size operator's own instructions: annual rainwater volume equals the sum of the customer's reduced areas times the long-term rainfall normal, from surface categories the customer declares and must keep…News ·

Willing to pay

1/2 · Some signs

One Czech city paid for a surface register in 2019, and water companies buy billing software for the charge.Market checkusys.czCzech check — billing engines exist, the measuring does not (another site)Five Czech query shapes, an English one, the state contracts register in full text and the business register: the billing systems that invoice the charge are named, no Czech vendor sells the surface mapping, and the one register on file was made by a city's own operator.Market check ·

  • In 2019 Kolín paid its water operator to register its billable surfaces.Market checkusys.czCzech check — billing engines exist, the measuring does not (another site)Five Czech query shapes, an English one, the state contracts register in full text and the business register: the billing systems that invoice the charge are named, no Czech vendor sells the surface mapping, and the one register on file was made by a city's own operator.Market check ·
  • No other contract like it has been found in the public contracts register.Market checkusys.czCzech check — billing engines exist, the measuring does not (another site)Five Czech query shapes, an English one, the state contracts register in full text and the business register: the billing systems that invoice the charge are named, no Czech vendor sells the surface mapping, and the one register on file was made by a city's own operator.Market check ·
  • The state's 1.36bn CZK loan call pays for treatment plants, not for billing.sfzp.gov.czSFŽP call 2/2026 — 1.36bn CZK of loans for the same plants (another site)The state environmental fund lends 1,355.2M CZK at one percent to upgrade treatment plants above 10,000 population equivalent for the same directive; it funds treatment, not the billing of rainwater, so it backs no score here.In the source’s words“Celkově alokováno finančních prostředků 1 355,2 mil. Kč Zdrojově kryto: 1 219,6 mil. Kč z prostředků Fondu soudržnosti 135,6 mil. Kč z prostředků Státního fondu životního prostředí ČR Termíny pro podání žádostí Datum zahájení příjmu…”Tender ·

One purchase

Validated abroad

2/3 · Proven once

In Germany, two firms map roofs and paving from aerial photos so towns can bill rainwater by area.2 sourcescaigos.deCAIGOS (another site)A Kirkel GIS house that has flown, mapped and handed to billing the sealed surfaces of more than 40 German municipalities since 2010.Company abroad · phoenics.dePhoenics (another site)A Seelze photogrammetry firm, founded 1994, that captures and updates sealed-surface registers for the split sewer charge and has re-run the survey for Hamburg and Frankfurt.Company abroad ·

Where it works: DE — home market CZDECZ
  1. CAIGOS (another site)Based in Germany
  2. Phoenics (another site)Based in Germany

Market gap

2/2 · Open

Czech billing systems already invoice the charge, but no Czech firm has been found selling the measuring.Market checkusys.czCzech check — billing engines exist, the measuring does not (another site)Five Czech query shapes, an English one, the state contracts register in full text and the business register: the billing systems that invoice the charge are named, no Czech vendor sells the surface mapping, and the one register on file was made by a city's own operator.Market check ·

New, selling this: nobody on file. Established, selling this: nobody on file. New, selling something nearby: Softbit software (since 2005). Established, selling something nearby: DATAINFO (since 1991), USYS (UTILITIES SYSTEMS) (since 1992), Energie AG Kolín (formerly VODOS) (since 1993). No established player sells this here.

The space is still open

Execution difficulty

1/3 · Hard

Makes it easier

  • No licence is needed.
  • No Czech firm sells the measuring yet.
  • A first job needs no outside money.

Makes it harder

  • The payers are towns, regions and road authorities.
  • The work depends on the state's aerial photos and land register.

Suggested first moves

  1. Build a tool that measures every roof and paved yard in one sewer operator's area from the state's free aerial photos.
  2. Offer one mid-size sewer operator a register of the surfaces it bills, at the price one Czech city already paid.
  3. Send each owner a pre-filled statement of the measured areas on their plot, with an easy way to correct it.