The Act applies a graduated approach to the regulation of abstractions, allowing for a registration and licensing regime that permits proportionality to the level of risk presented by abstractions of different volumes and significances. Three abstraction bands are provided for in the Act, which are determined by the volume of water being abstracted in any 24-hour period.
Abstractions less than 25m3/day
If your abstraction is less than 25m3 (25,000 litres) of water per day, you DO NOT need to register or apply for a licence.
typically abstracts less than 1m3 of water per day and registration/licensing isn’t required and
the householder does not need to comply with obligations under Part 2 of the Regulations as it is an exempted extraction.
Users of mains water supply
If you use a mains water supply (i.e. if you get your water from Uisce Éireann or a group water scheme), you DO NOT need to register or apply for a licence.
If your abstraction is > 25m3/day (25,000 litres) of water per day, you need to register or apply for a licence depending on water volume abstracted and, in some cases, EPA assessment.
Abstractions could include, for example, drinking water supply; agricultural activities such as dairy, beef; horticulture; industrial activities such as EPA licensed facilities; commercial activities such as hotels; recreational activities such as golf courses or racecourses; aquaculture; hydropower; mining and quarrying activities.
The registration threshold is 25 cubic metres or more in any 24-hour period. Abstractions between 25m3/day and 1,999m3/day inclusive require registration and EPA assessment to determine if a licence is required. See How to register a water abstraction.
25m3 is equivalent to about 150 bathtubs of water. A farmer abstracting water for 200 dairy cows, or a group water scheme abstracting water for 42 households, would use around 25m3/day.
If your abstraction is >25m3/day and does not require a licence or is an existing abstraction awaiting a determination on a licence application, you are required to comply with Obligations under Part 2 of the Regulations.
The licensing threshold is 2,000 cubic metres or more in any 24-hour period. Abstractions of 2,000m3/day or greater automatically require a licence. See How to apply for a water abstraction licence.
A large drinking water abstraction or industrial abstraction could abstract thousands of cubic metres of water per day.
The requirements of the water abstraction legislation do not apply to prescribed exempted abstractions. See Exempted abstractions.
Determining water volume abstracted
If you have a flow meter, you can use it to measure how much water you use per day. If you do not measure how much water you use, you can estimate your water use with a tool created by the EPA. This Quick Abstraction Volume Estimator tool is available herealong with worked examples.
The registration and licensing thresholds set in the legislation relate to the volume of water abstracted in any 24-hour period. Consequently, the maximum volume of water abstracted in any 24-hour period (m3/day)must be declared when registering or applying a licence. Applicants are also required to declare the Total Annual Volume Abstracted (m³/annum).
Regulation of abstractions with multiple abstraction points
If you are abstracting water from two or more abstraction points in the same waterbody which join to form one abstraction, all abstraction points are regulated under the same registration or licence. For example, a factory abstracting from several wells from the same groundwater body to supply their process water.
In the situation where there are two or more abstractions from different waterbodies, then these abstractions must be registered or licenced separately. For example, abstractions undertaken by the same farmer at two different farms, using water drawn from different waterbodies, must be registered or licensed separately.
Exempted abstractions
Certain abstraction activities are exempt, and these are set out in Part 4 of the Regulations. The Regulations set out qualifying conditions which must be satisfied for exempted abstractions. The categories of exempt abstractions are as follows:
Abstraction from borehole or well to provide drinking water to a single domestic dwelling.
Temporary abstraction to facilitate carrying out of works.
Abstraction stored in impoundment or artificial storage pond built for the purpose of storing water which receives its inflow from a registered or licensed abstraction.
Abstraction for testing or investigative reasons.
Temporary abstraction to facilitate any works or operations authorised by or under an enactment.
Abstraction that is required for fire-fighting.
Works relating to associated impoundment of an exempted abstraction.
is an existing abstraction awaiting a determination of licence application.
The legislation should be consulted for full details of these requirements. The following list highlights some key obligations:
measure or, where appropriate, estimate the daily rate of the abstraction,
maintain records of the results of all measurements or estimations,
do not carry out an abstraction at a rate that is likely to cause a barrier to the passage of fish or interfere with the transport of sediment within a body of surface water,
maintain any pipework, storage tanks or other equipment associated with an abstraction to keep water leakage to a minimum, and
give notice to the EPA of any changes to the entry on the register of abstractions (e.g. material change, transfer, cessation of abstraction).
If you are not sure if the legislation applies to you, contact the EPA by emailing licensing@epa.ie.
