In order for a customer to be supplied with drinking water or have wastewater removed from their property, the property must be connected to the public water supply system or sewerage system, in accordance with legal regulations and the contract for the supply of drinking water and wastewater disposal. The owner of the water supply or sewerage system, or the operator, if authorised by the owner, is obliged to enable a connection to the water supply or sewerage system and to supply drinking water or to dispose of and treat wastewater if the capacity and technical possibilities of these facilities so allow. The cost of installing a connection to the water supply or to the sewerage system must be paid by the person who is connecting to it. Connecting to a water supply or sewerage system and entering into a contract for the supply of drinking water or for the disposal and treatment of wastewater cannot be made conditional to the requirement of financial or other benefits.
The actual supply of drinking water and the disposal of wastewater are based on a contract between the customer (property owner) and the owner or operator of the water supply or sewerage system in question, which means that the customer cannot choose their supplier. Contracts for the supply of drinking water and wastewater disposal are governed under private law; the relevant provisions of the Civil Code and of the Water Supply and Sewerage Act apply, the latter containing the minimum necessary elements of the contract.
The Water Supply and Sewerage Act provides that the abstraction of water or the discharge of wastewater without a written contract or in breach of the contract is illegal and gives grounds for interrupting or restricting the provision of such services. Another instance where the water supply or wastewater disposal service may be interrupted or restricted is if the customer pays the water or sewerage charges more than 30 days late, according to the agreed method of payment.
In accordance with the Prices Act, the water and sewerage price is subject to price regulation. This price regulation is determined by an assessment and is described, together with details of what can and cannot be included in the price, in the assessment notice published by the Ministry of Finance in the Price Bulletin.
The competent administrative authorities in the field of customer protection are:
- the Ministry of Agriculture under the Water Supply and Sewerage Act,
- the Ministry of Finance and the Specialised Tax Office in relation to the price regulations,
- the Regional Public Health Office in relation to the supervision of the safety and quality of drinking water,
- the Czech Environmental Inspectorate, which carries out monitoring activities in connection with the discharge of wastewater into surface or groundwater,
- the Czech Trade Inspection Authority in the field of consumer protection, pursuant to Act No 634/1992 on consumer protection, as amended.