Water pricing is a term that covers various processes to assign a price to water. These processes differ greatly under different circumstances:

Bottled water

Prices for bottled water

Bottled water

Bottled water is drinking water packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not...

 are set in the market. Retail prices vary widely between countries, brands, bottle sizes (0.33 liter to 20 liters) and place of sale (supermarket, restaurant etc.). They range from US$ 0.20 to US$6 per liter, equivalent to US$ 200 to US$ 6,000 per cubic meter.

Tanker trucks

Prices for water sold by tanker trucks in bulk, which is common in cities of some developing countries for households without access to piped water supply, are set in the market. Prices for trucked water vary between about US$1 and US$6 per cubic meter.

Utility tariffs

Prices for piped water supply provided by utilities, be they publicly or privately managed, are determined administratively (see water tariff

Water tariff

A water tariff is a price assigned to water supplied by a public utility through a piped network to its customers. The term is also often applied to wastewater tariffs...

s). They vary from US$ 0.01 to almost US$ 8 per cubic meter (including sewer tariffs).

Irrigation

Prices for irrigation water that is being provided by a public agency are also typically determined administratively, usually using a flat rate, since metering is not common in agriculture in most countries of the world.

The following pricing systems exist for irrigation:

• Area-based tariffs, sometimes differentiated by type of crop grown
• Volumetric pricing, which requires measurement

Tariffs can be paid in the form of labor, which holds mainly in communal types of management in traditional irrigation systems, or in cash. Tariffs can also vary between seasons, with higher tariffs charged during the dry season.

Direct abstraction

In most countries there is no charge for abstracting water directly from rivers, lakes and aquifers. However, some countries do levy volumetric charges or fees for water abstraction rights. These charges are typically levied on industries, utilities and farmers. Fees for water abstraction and discharge exist for example in France, where revenues are significant and are re-invested in the water sector by water agencies established in major basins. In Germany abstraction fees exist only for groundwater and only in some states, and their proceeds go into the general state budget. Mexico

Water resources management in Mexico

Water resources management is one of Mexico's pressing concerns, and it is imposing heavy costs to the economy. The arid northwest and central regions contain 77% of Mexico's population and generate 87% of the gross domestic product . Poor southern regions have abundant water resources...

 also charges for water abstraction and returns proceeds to utilities, but not to industries. Outside the OECD countries few countries charge water abstraction fees. Where they are applied the level of fees tends to be nominal, such as in Morocco

Water supply and sanitation in Morocco

Water supply and sanitation in Morocco is provided by a wide array of utilities. They range from private companies in the largest city, Casablanca, the capital, Rabat, and two other cities, to public municipal utilities in 13 other cities, as well as a national water company...

, or enforcement is partial, such as for groundwater abstraction fees in Jordan. In almost all countries that have introduced abstraction fees agriculture, the major water user world wide, is exempted from abstraction fees. Some countries allow water rights to be traded, so that the price for water itself is formed in the market. Such water markets exist in parts of Australia, Chile and the Southwestern United States).