Changes to water abstraction licensing exemptions in England and Wales: New Authorisations

Overview

Defra ‘We invite your views on proposed changes to water abstraction licensing exemptions in England and Wales. Defra, the Welsh Government, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales are consulting jointly on our intended approach to remove most exemptions from water abstraction licensing and bring these abstractions under licensing control (New Authorisations).

Water abstraction is the process of taking water directly from surface water, such as rivers, or ground water. Abstraction can have significant impacts on the water body and the environment it supports. This is why most abstractions are licensed. However, as the water abstraction licensing system in England and Wales has developed over the past 50 years certain abstractions have remained exempt from licensing control and legally able to take an unlimited supply of water, even in areas that are water stressed.

We plan to take a light-touch, risk based approach to bring the majority of exempt abstractors into the licensing system to help balance the needs of all abstractors and the environment. This will enable the Regulators to better manage water at catchment level and is part of a much wider effort to manage our water resources in a sustainable way, now and for future generations. We propose to begin bringing New Authorisations into the licensing system in 2016. Some abstractions that are considered low risk will remain exempt.

The main activities that will be impacted by the changes include:

• transferring water from one inland water system to another by a navigation, harbour or conservancy authority;
• abstraction of water into internal drainage districts;
• dewatering mines, quarries and engineering works;
• warping;
• all forms of irrigation (other than spray irrigation, which is already licensable), and the use of land drainage systems in reverse (including transfers into managed wetland systems) to maintain field water levels;
• geographically exempt areas; and
• the majority of abstractions covered by Crown and visiting forces exemptions’

To read more go to:

https://consult.defra.gov.uk/water/water-abstraction-licensing-exemptions