Article 33 of the Saudi Water Law

While Article 32 deals with the tariff for water sources, which the Ministerial Committee proposes and the Council of Ministers approves, this article deals with the tariffs for service provision activities. According to Article 1, these activities include, for example, desalinating, purifying and treating water, transporting it to distribution points, distributing it and selling it at retail, and collecting and treating sewage, and they do not include filling water into containers.

The article provides that the Authority approves these tariffs and reviews them periodically, without specifying a particular review interval. In the review it must take into account:

1. The principle of rationing and conserving water and its sustainability.
2. Incentives to improve technical and economic efficiency and service quality in order to meet the community's essential needs and economic activities.
3. The requirements of national development policies and strategies.
4. Enabling the licensee for the service provision activity to operate efficiently so as to recover full costs and achieve a reasonable return on invested capital.
5. Clarity and ease of application and administration.
6. The economic circumstances of low-income people.
7. The nature of the economic activity using the water and the ways of obtaining water and its services.

The article thus balances the interest of the consumer, especially the low-income consumer, against the service provider's need to recover its costs and earn a reasonable return. The article does not set specific prices or percentages. Anyone with an objection or a question about the tariff for a particular service can consult a lawyer who specializes in water regulations and administrative cases.