Don't forget to register your existing, small groundwater well with the Water Board before Sept. 1, 2024. Registration has been mandatory since September 1 of last year. The reporting requirement applies to all users. 4,700 well owners have so far reported to Waterschap De Dommel.

After September 1, 2024

You cannot register existing groundwater wells after Sept. 1, 2024. And only registered users can continue to use their small groundwater pump after September 1. This applies to all users: residents, businesses, farmers, governments and other organizations. 

We therefore advise you to report especially on time. Because groundwater extraction from an unreported well is prohibited after September 1.

Do you want to drill a new well? Then you need a permit to do so since July 1, 2023 in much of the Dommel area. 

All small groundwater wells

The notification requirement applies to all groundwater pumps that pump up to 10 cubic meters of water per hour. 1 cubic meter of water is 1,000 liters. Such a small well is also called a small abstraction, groundwater source or extraction, well or garden irrigation system. 

So it's not just about private groundwater pumps in a (people's) garden or meadow. We also advise (agricultural) entrepreneurs to report their small withdrawals. For example, they use groundwater to spray off dirt, let cattle drink or wash products.

Greater insight

Mado Ruijs (executive director): "Calling attention to groundwater use now may seem a bit strange. We have had an enormously wet year. The groundwater is now almost everywhere higher than normal. When it is drier and warmer, the groundwater level will slowly sink.

So now there is certainly no groundwater shortage. But structurally, the groundwater system in Brabant is out of balance. To do something about it, we need more insight into all groundwater use. That is why the reporting requirement has been introduced. I call on people to report their well, because I want to prevent them from being too late."

Sign up 

Registering an existing, small groundwater well can easily be done online through the De Dommel Water Board website . Registration is free and it only has to be done once.