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| Frequently Asked Questions
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| I want a borehole on my
property as a source of drinking water, irrigation water
or for industrial use, what should I do?
- Establish if you
can get the water you need from a borehole on your
property
- Find out if an abstraction
licence or authorisation is required
- Register the borehole
Establish if you can get the water you need from a borehole
on your property
 There
are two issues here - will a borehole provide the quantity
of water you need, and will the quality be adequate for
your purpose. The British Geological Survey can, for a
fee, prepare a Water
Borehole Prognosis Report for the site, based on geological
and hydrogeological maps and the information available
to them in their borehole database. Hydrogeological consultancies will
also provide this service. Contact details for these can be obtained
through the Geologist's Directory produced
by the Geological Society or perhaps the local office of your environment
regulator. Drilling contractors with knowledge of local conditions
may also be able to provide advice.
If it looks like you can get the quantity and quality
of water you need then consent to drill and test pump
an exploratory borehole must be sought. In England and
Wales approach the Environment Agency. In Scotland an
authorisation is required from the Scottish Environment
Protection Agency (SEPA); here there will be
a tiered approach - authorisation will be in the form
of notification, general binding rules and licences.
Further information on the construction of boreholes can
be obtained from various information booklets available
to download on the Environment Agency website including
Searching
for Groundwater, which outlines the procedure for gaining
consent in England and Wales.
Contact details for drillers can be obtained by contacting
the Well
Drillers Association. Their web site contains useful
information on the construction of boreholes for water
supply. Booklets on the construction of water supply boreholes
and their headworks have been produced by the Environment
Agency and the Scottish
Environment Protection Agency.
Please note, there is a legal obligation for the driller
to send information on the construction of boreholes drilled
for water, deeper than 15 metres, to the British Geological
Survey; in Northern Ireland, inform the
Geological Survey
of Northern Ireland. The Surveys are keen to have information
on shallower boreholes as well.
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Find out if an abstraction licence or authorisation is
required
 In
England and Wales, your first step should be to contact
your local office of the Environment
Agency to find out whether you will need to apply
for a licence, particularly as licensing regulations have recently changed.
They will also provide general details
about how to go about obtaining
a licence.
The need for a licence for a borehole in England and Wales
is dependent on how
much you intend to pump. If you are planning to pump more than
20 m3/day you will almost certainly require a licence.
In some areas groundwater resources may already be fully
utilised and there may be restrictions on where and how
much additional water can be pumped.
In Scotland, an authorisation for groundwater abstraction
is required. More information can be obtained
from your local office of the Scottish
Environment Protection Agency.
Water abstraction control regulations are expected to be introduced
in Northern Ireland in 2007. Contact the
Environment
and Heritage Service for more details. |
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Register the borehole
In England and Wales, if
your borehole supply is licensed, then it will already
be registered with the Environment Agency. If your abstraction
is unlicensed then there is an advantage in telling the
Environment Agency as the presence of groundwater sources
is an important consideration in many of the day to day
water management and protection duties they undertake.
In Scotland all abstractions need to obtain an authorisation.
Therefore there is no separate need to
inform SEPA.
In Northern Ireland, it is recommended that you notify
the Environment and Heritage Service of new supply boreholes.
If your borehole supplies water for domestic use, or to
make food or drink that will be sold, then the Environmental
Health Department of your Local Authority has an obligation
to test the water. The minimum statutory monitoring may
be done free of charge. A more frequent monitoring service,
if not free, will often be done at cost price. Although
you are not obliged to tell your local authority that
you have a private supply, it is advisable to do so, as
they can advise you of any potential pollution risks.
For sources to be used for domestic purposes for more
than one household, or for commercial food production
for human consumption you should contact your Local Authority.
In Northern Ireland, you are advised to contact the Drinking
Water Inspectorate, a unit within the Environment
and Heritage Service. |
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