Apply for a water abstraction or impounding licence
How to apply to the Environment Agency for a water abstraction or impounding licence.
Applies to England
Types of water resources licence
There are different types of water resources licences you can apply for. They are:
- a full abstraction licence – for most types of water abstraction over 20 cubic metres a day
- a transfer abstraction licence – to move over 20 cubic metres of water a day from one source to another without intervening use
- a temporary abstraction licence – to abstract more than 20 cubic metres of water a day over a period of less than 28 days
- an impounding licence – to create or alter an impoundment structure such as a sluice, weir or dam
Before you apply
Not all abstraction and impoundment activities need a licence. Check if you need an abstraction licence or impounding licence.
If you need a licence, you must check your local abstraction licensing strategy to find out:
- what the water availability status is in your catchment
- if you are likely to get a licence
If your local abstraction licensing strategy shows that you are not likely to get a licence, you may be able to enter into an agreement with an existing licence holder to trade abstraction rights.
You may also need a separate environmental permit for your activity. Check if you need an environmental permit.
Check if you must provide safe passage for eels or get approval for a fish pass as part of your activity. If you do not do this, you may have to redesign your scheme later.
You may have to give hydrological information when you apply for a licence. You can check the important hydrological information the Environment Agency may ask for.
If you carry out an activity without a licence or permit when you need one, the Environment Agency may take enforcement action.
Managing your licence to protect the environment
The Environment Agency will apply conditions to an abstraction or impounding licence that are necessary to protect the environment and other water users. This may restrict your access to water at times when you may need it.
You may wish to carry out your own environmental assessment before progressing your licence application, to:
- better understand when water will be available to you
- support your application by helping the Environment Agency determine the conditions to use
If you do complete an environmental assessment, you can provide this with your application.
Abstract groundwater
If you want to abstract groundwater, you must check if you need to apply for consent to investigate a groundwater source before you apply for a licence. This includes boreholes, wells, springs, quarries and mineral workings.
You will need to do this if you want to:
- construct a well, borehole or other work (that relates to springs, quarries or mineral workings) from which you want to abstract groundwater
- extend the well, borehole or other work
- install or modify any machinery or apparatus which abstracts additional groundwater, such as by installing a larger pump
You need to prepare a hydrogeological impact assessment (HIA) before you apply for a groundwater abstraction licence to:
- work out the risks
- design mitigation measures which manage the impact to other abstractions and the environment
Competing abstraction proposals
In some cases, more than one person may want to abstract the available water. The Environment Agency may decide to grant an abstraction licence to one or more applicants or refuse all the applications and not grant an abstraction licence to anyone.
If your licence is competing, this may mean that you:
- cannot get an abstraction licence
- get a licence with more restrictive conditions than you thought you would get
- need to split or share the available water with other proposals
The Environment Agency will tell you if your application is competing with another abstraction proposal and what action you need to take.
For further guidance see Water abstraction licences: competing proposals.
Get help with your application
Before you apply, you can ask the Environment Agency’s pre-application advice service for help. For example, so you understand:
- what information the Environment Agency needs before they can accept your application
- the likelihood of getting a licence if you apply
- possible restrictions that the Environment Agency will apply to any licence granted
How long an abstraction licence lasts
Abstraction licences normally have a time limit linked to a common end date. You can find out the next common end date for your area.
When the Environment Agency grants a new licence, it is likely to be for between 6 and 18 years.
The Environment Agency may grant a new licence with a shorter duration where:
- there could be issues with the licence or water availability
- there is only a short term need for the licence
When a licence is renewed, it will normally be for another 12 years. It is the licence holder’s responsibility to apply to renew a licence before it expires.
In certain circumstances, the Environment Agency will consider granting a new licence for up to 24 years.
Long duration licences
You can apply for a long duration licence (up to 24 years) as part of your licence application.
If you want to apply for a long duration groundwater licence, you must discuss this with the Environment Agency as part of any groundwater investigation consent. This is to make sure any investigation considers the proposed long term nature of the abstraction.
To support your application for a long duration licence, you must:
- include the requested duration of the abstraction
- provide evidence of your business plan linked to the abstraction, including, but not limited to, information on existing contractual agreements (and how long these run for), assets, asset lifespan and maintenance – see more information on writing a business plan
- where you have consulted on your business plan externally (for example, with an accountant or consultant), provide information on who was involved in the development of your business plan and their qualifications
- where your business requires loans or financing, such as to install infrastructure, provide evidence of any loan agreements (or agreements in principle) and include the duration of any repayment plan
- provide a summary (no more than one page) of how your business will contribute to sustainable development – this could include an explanation of how it will contribute to the economic, social and environmental objectives set out in the local development plan, where applicable, or how it contributes to a sustainable development goal and will support economic growth
Where you provide information that is commercially confidential, you must:
- still include this information as part of your application
- clearly identify what information should be treated as confidential
- provide justification for treating it in this way
Where the Environment Agency grant a long duration licence, it will include a condition allowing the licensed volumes to be reduced if changes in climate conditions cause the abstraction to become unsustainable. Before applying, you may wish to:
- complete an environmental assessment to understand the impacts that climate change could have on water availability
- use the pre-application advice service to help calculate the volumes your licence could be reduced to
The Environment Agency will provide you with more information on licence conditions as part of your licence determination.
Charges
You must pay an application charge:
- to apply for a new licence
- for some changes (variations) to an existing licence
You will also usually need to pay an annual charge (called a ‘subsistence’ charge) once you hold a full abstraction licence.
Use the guidance on the charges for water resources licences to work out your application charge and annual charge (where required).
You may have to pay additional charges during determination if the Environment Agency need to carry out extra work, for example:
- completing conservation assessments
- making a comparison between competing abstraction proposals
Application forms
You will need to fill in the relevant application forms to apply for a water resources licence. If you do not fill out the forms correctly the Environment Agency may return them to you or request extra information from you. This may delay your application.
To renew a licence on the same terms, see renew a water abstraction licence. To renew a licence and make changes to it at the same time, use the application forms for a new licence.
To apply for permission for a hydropower scheme, see new hydropower scheme: apply to build one.
To apply for permissions for an open loop heat pump system, use the application forms on open loop heat pump systems: permits, consents and licences.
Application forms for a new licence to abstract water
To apply for a new full, transfer or temporary licence to abstract water, read the guidance notes and complete all of these forms:
- Part A application for a water resources licence – about you
- Part B application for a water resources abstraction licence – about the abstraction
- Part C application for a water resources abstraction licence – additional information such as the duration of the licence, water use and how you will measure what you have abstracted
- Part E application charge for water resources licence – your application charge
You do not need to complete Part E if you are applying for an environmentally beneficial abstraction, as explained in section 2.1.5 in the charges for water resources licences.
If you want to vary (change) an existing abstraction licence you may need to complete different forms.
Application forms for an impoundment
To apply for a licence for a new or existing impoundment, read the guidance notes and complete all of these forms:
- Part A application for a water resources licence – about you
- Part D application for a water resources impoundment licence – about your impounding proposal
- Part E application charge for water resources licence – your application charge
You do not need to complete Part E if you are applying for an environmentally beneficial impoundment, as explained in section 2.1.5 in the charges for water resources licences.
If you want to vary (change) an existing impounding licence you may need to complete different forms.
After you apply
The Environment Agency will check your application forms. If they are not filled out correctly they may:
- return them to you
- request further information from you
The Environment Agency will usually make a decision on:
- temporary licence applications within 28 days – they may extend this by up to 56 days to consult with third parties if it’s near a conservation site
- all other licence applications within 4 months
It may take longer if:
- your application is complex
- your application needs to be advertised
- there is a queue of applications
If this applies to you, the Environment Agency will tell you and may ask you to agree an extension of time for their decision.
If you are granted a licence, you will receive it as a PDF by email. You can also manage your licences online.
You must comply with your water abstraction or impounding licence to legally abstract or impound water.
Help us improve water abstraction services
The Environment Agency is doing research to make it easier to do things like:
- find out how much water is available to abstract
- apply for a water abstraction licence
- manage a water abstraction licence
We need feedback from users to make sure our improvements meet people’s needs. Sign up for occasional invites to take part in research.
Contact the Environment Agency
General enquiries
National Customer Contact Centre
PO Box 544
Rotherham
S60 1BY
Email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk
Telephone 03708 506 506
Telephone from outside the UK (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm GMT) +44 (0) 114 282 5312
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.