The Netherlands has 21 water boards. Water boards are responsible for managing surface water (the water system task) and wastewater treatment. The water system task includes protection against high water and water nuisance and ensuring sufficient water. This involves, for example, the construction and management of water barriers, such as dikes. For this, water boards expect to levy 2.3 billion euros in 2025, which is more than 9 percent more than in 2024.
For the other main task - wastewater treatment - water boards budget 2.0 billion euros in levies (purification and pollution levy). This is almost 7 percent more than in 2024. Water board taxes are paid by households, farmers, nature reserve managers, and companies in the area of the water board. Some water boards also collect road levies.
Households pay the largest share of the levy revenues. Each household pays to the water board through local levies. The amount of these levies varies greatly per water board and depends on the WOZ value of the house and the number of residents, and the rates of the water board. The WOZ value of 2025 (valuation date 1-1-2024) is used for the water board taxes of 2025.
Based on the average national WOZ value, a multi-person household with an owner-occupied home in Wetterskip Fryslân pays the most in water board levy: 679 euros per year. In Waterschap De Dommel in the province of North Brabant, a multi-person household with an owner-occupied home with the same WOZ value pays the least: 370 euros. A single-person household with the same owner-occupied home pays 474 euros and 206 euros in these water boards, respectively.