Water Bills Rise by 20% – Major Impact for Pensioners on Low Incomes

From 2025, hundreds of thousands of pensioners and elderly people in Romania are facing a new financial challenge: water and sewerage tariff increases of up to 20%. These rises come at a time when many seniors are already struggling with inflation and the rising cost of living, and an additional expense of several hundred RON per year can be devastating for their limited budgets.

The situation is particularly difficult in cities such as Bacău, which will have the highest price for drinking water in Romania — over 11 RON per cubic metre excluding VAT. For a pensioner who consumes an average of 10 cubic metres of water per month, this means an additional expense of over 200 RON annually on drinking water alone. In Iași, where the total bill exceeds 23 RON per cubic metre, the financial impact is even more severe.

Elderly people are especially vulnerable to these price increases for several reasons. Firstly, the average pension in Romania is relatively modest compared to the cost of living, and utilities account for a substantial portion of monthly outgoings. Secondly, many seniors have health conditions that require greater hygiene and more frequent water use, making it impossible to reduce consumption.

The increases vary significantly between localities: Turda is seeing rises of nearly 20%, while in Arad, Constanța, Bacău and Brașov increases exceed 12%. In Oradea and Suceava, pensioners face rises of over 16%, which can mean additional expenditure of 150–300 RON per year for a typical senior household.

For care homes and residential care centres, these increases represent a serious operational challenge. The higher water and sewerage costs will either have to be absorbed by operators — which may affect the quality of services — or passed on to families paying for the care of their elderly parents, creating additional financial pressure.

Social care specialists advise seniors to check whether they are eligible for social assistance or utility subsidies. It is also important for elderly people to monitor their consumption and report any leaks or technical issues that may artificially inflate their bills. In the context of these increases, saving water is becoming not merely a matter of environmental responsibility, but an economic necessity for many pensioners.