Further implementation of pricing policies could provide an incentive for more efficient water use. The Water Framework Directive explicitly requires cost-recovery for water services (including environmental and resource costs), taking into account the 'polluter pays' principle. Indeed, in its Article 9, the directive asks Member States to take account of the recovery of the costs of water services (including environmental and resource costs), assessed at the level of different sectors (disaggregated into agriculture, households and industry). In many instances, however, water users currently do not pay prices that reflect the full cost of water supply, let alone the environmental impacts of water consumption or its value in alternative uses