Israeli households pay for water on a two-step tariff: a lower rate for a recognised monthly quantity, and a higher rate for everything above it. The recognised quantity is not one number for every home. It is 3.5 cubic metres per person per month, multiplied by the number of recognised people in the dwelling unit. The Israel Water Authority’s guidance to public water suppliers, checked on 12 November 2026, says every household is recognised for two people even when only one person lives there, so a single occupant and a couple get the same cheap block, and a family of five gets a larger one. Anything above that block is charged at the higher rate.
How the two steps work
Your bill splits consumption into two blocks, and only the first is cheap:
- Recognised quantity (כמות מוכרת, kamut mukeret). 3.5 m³ per person per month, at the low tariff.
- Additional quantity (כמות נוספת, kamut nosefet). Everything above the recognised quantity, at the higher tariff, which is close to double the low rate in recent schedules.
Billing is bi-monthly, so the monthly blocks are doubled on the bill: a single occupant’s recognised quantity appears as 7 m³ for a two-month period, a couple’s as 14 m³, and so on. The rates themselves are set in the water tariff rules and updated with the annual tariff order, so the amount per cubic metre changes while the 3.5 m³ step per person has stayed the structural rule.
Why the number of registered people matters
The recognised quantity is calculated from the people recorded for the dwelling unit, not from who happens to be living there. If somebody moves in or out and the water corporation’s records are not updated, the cheap block stays wrong and the household either under-uses it or pays the high tariff earlier than it should. Ask the corporation that bills you to check how many persons are registered for the unit.
Additional recognised quantity for some benefit recipients
Certain National Insurance recipients receive an extra recognised quantity at the low tariff, on top of the per-person calculation. The groups described in the source material cover recipients of the nursing benefit, the special-services benefit, the disability pension, the disabled-child benefit, the mobility benefit, survivors’ pensions and Holocaust survivors and Nazi-war disabled who receive a grant, each subject to its own conditions and level thresholds.
National Insurance’s rights list, checked on 12 November 2026, gives an extra quantity of up to 3.5 m³ a month at the lower tariff. Among the groups it names are nursing benefit at level 3 and above (including awards reduced because of income), special services at 112% and above, general disability pension with a medical disability of 70% or more, and parents of a child who receives the disabled-child allowance. Mobility benefit recipients are listed too. For survivors’ pensions the list covers people above retirement age who receive an income supplement. The home address must be up to date with the Interior Ministry, and the lists can change.
National Insurance also lists recognised hostile-action victims. As of 12 November 2026 its list of benefits at other bodies shows an additional quantity of up to 3.5 m³ a month at the low tariff for a hostile-action disabled person with a disability of at least 50%, or one who receives permanent subsistence payments from National Insurance, meaning payments for at least three years. National Insurance sends the Water Authority a list of people who may be eligible, the person’s residence address must be up to date at the Interior Ministry, and the benefit is meant to be given automatically.
Two cautions. The eligibility level differs between groups, and at least one group requires a specific benefit percentage rather than mere receipt. And the practical condition is the same across all of them: the benefit applies to household water at the home where the eligible person actually lives. Confirm the current conditions with the National Insurance Institute and with the corporation that bills you before budgeting on it.
Why the bill also charges for sewage
A household water bill is usually a water and sewage bill. The sewage charge is not metered separately: it is calculated on a volume of water, which is why the two numbers on your bill are connected. The tariff schedule that sets the rates therefore lists a separate line of its own: a rate per cubic metre of water for the quantity charged only for sewage services, alongside the water rates. Ask the corporation that bills you which share of your water volume is used for the sewage calculation, because that share is what connects a change in water use to a change in the sewage charge.
What to check on your own bill
- Registered persons. Compare the recognised quantity on the bill with 3.5 m³ multiplied by the people registered for the unit.
- The consumption split. A bill that shows most consumption at the high tariff is either a genuinely high-use household or a registration error.
- Any benefit you are entitled to. Ask the water corporation whether the additional recognised quantity is already applied, and what document it needs from you.
- The current rates. Ask the corporation for its current tariff schedule, or read the Water Authority’s published rates, because the per-cubic-metre figures change with each tariff order.
Where these figures come from
The tariff structure described on this page follows the published schedule in force from 1 January 2026 that an Israeli water corporation issues for its own customers. One example is the Mei Ziona water and sewage corporation’s published tariff schedule (Hebrew PDF), which is the document checked for this page. Every corporation publishes the equivalent schedule for its own area, and the rates are set nationally, so ask the corporation that bills you for its current version.
Frequently asked
Is the cheap block per household or per person?
Per person, at 3.5 m³ per person per month. Under the Water Authority’s guidance (checked on 12 November 2026), a one-person household is still recognised for two people, so its cheap block matches a couple’s and is smaller only than that of a larger household in the same building.
Does using less than the recognised quantity reduce the bill further?
No. Consumption inside the recognised quantity is simply charged at the low tariff; unused volume is not credited.
Do tenants and owners pay differently?
The tariff follows the dwelling unit and the account, not the ownership. What matters is who is registered on the account and for the unit.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm with a licensed professional.
If you are buying or renting a home in Israel and want the running costs checked before you commit, see how arnona works and the electricity discount guide, or send us your details and the Semerenko Group team will get back to you.
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