Abstracting and impounding water in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, you must have authorisation from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) to abstract water from:  
  • surface waters such as rivers, lakes and wetlands
  • coastal waters, ie water within three nautical miles of land
  • transitional water, such as estuaries and water in the vicinity of river mouths
  • underground strata such as wells, boreholes and springs.

You also need authorisation from NIEA if you own, operate, maintain or plan an impoundment (such as a reservoir) which creates a difference in height of more than one metre between upstream and downstream water surfaces.

Authorisation for abstractions

Water abstractions of less than 10m3 per day that have minimal risk to the environment are called Permitted Controlled Activities (PCA).

If you abstract less than 10m3 of water per day, you do not need to contact NIEA, but you must:

  • be able to demonstrate the volume of water you abstract
  • minimise water leaks
  • prevent any contamination or pollution.

If you abstract between 10m3 and 20m3 of water per day you must notify the NIEA and you will also be subject to the PCA conditions.

You need an abstraction licence from NIEA if your activity is likely to pose a greater risk to the environment. There are two categories of abstraction licence:

  • a simple licence - issued if you abstract between 20m3 and 100m3 of water per day
  • a complex licence - issued if you abstract more than 100m3 of water per day.

Both licence types may be subject to conditions, such as the maximum rate at which you can abstract water and the maximum volume you can take in any day.

Authorisation for impoundments

You can impound water without contacting NIEA as long as your impoundment:

  • does not control the water level upstream
  • is not associated with an abstraction of water
  • does not create a difference in height of more than one metre between the upstream and downstream water surfaces.

You will need an impoundment licence from NIEA to impound water in all other circumstances.

NIEA may review, modify or revoke licences at the request of the licence holder, or if they consider this is necessary to prevent significant or serious damage to the environment.

    You may also need to submit an environmental statement to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) before proceeding with some projects, eg agricultural water management projects, such as spray irrigation, using more that 200m3 of water per day. Following this an abstraction or impoundment licence may still be required.

    In this guideline: