Factors affecting the cost of drinking water production
The article summarizes the findings of a statistical analysis of the cost of drinking water production in the Czech Republic in 2018. Understanding the factors that influence the cost of drinking water production is important for choosing a cost-effective public drinking water supply system. We present the first study analysing the factors affecting the cost of drinking water production in the Czech Republic. We tested the following factors for their influence on the production costs of drinking water: the quantity of drinking water produced, the type of raw water (surface vs. groundwater), electricity consumption, and the treatment technologies and chemicals applied. The results suggested that drinking water production from groundwater was cheaper than from surface water. At the same time, some water treatment technologies and usage of some treatment technologies and chemicals increase production costs. The use of sodium hypochlorite, chlorine and demanganisation have the greatest impact on production costs. We have also confirmed economies of scale in the production of drinking water.
