Grundwasser: Entnahme melden

The withdrawal of groundwater without a permit must be reported.

The water authority must be notified of any use of groundwater that does not require a permit.

The abstraction, pumping, discharging or transfer of groundwater does not require a permit:

• for domestic use, for farm operations, for watering livestock outside the farm or in small quantities for a temporary purpose,
• for the purposes of normal soil drainage on land used for agriculture, forestry or horticulture,
• for the purposes of non-commercial horticulture or for the preservation of soil fertility outside specially protected parts of nature and landscape;

provided there are no significant adverse effects on the water balance.

• Overview or site plan / information on the location of the extraction point
• Description of the project
  • Information on the intended extraction quantity (in m³ per hour / per day and/or per year)
  • Information on the withdrawal period (all year round / seasonal / only in a specific period)
  • Information on the use of the water (purpose of groundwater abstraction)
• Declaration of consent from the landowner if the project involves parcels of land that do not belong to the notifying person

You can report permit-free use to your local water authority. The general procedure is as follows:

• Send your notification with the required documents to the competent water authority.
• The responsible water authority
  • checks that your notification and documents are complete and contacts you if any information or documents are missing,
  • examines your application from a water management and water law perspective and, if necessary, involves other authorities,
  • decides whether it must impose conditions on the use of the water or prohibit the project.
• In addition to confirming receipt of the notification and the completeness of the documents submitted, the water authority does not always have to respond with an administrative act in the case of a notifiable project.
• If necessary, you will receive a notification of the administrative fees.

The processing time depends on the type and scope of the intended use.

Notify the authority of your project in good time before it begins. Unless you receive a different notification from the water authority, the project may only be started 6 weeks after the authority has received the complete documentation.

Objection, if an administrative act has been issued

• Notification of permit-free groundwater use
• No permit is required for the abstraction, pumping, discharging or transfer of groundwater:
  • for domestic use, for farm operations, for watering livestock outside the farm or in small quantities for a temporary purpose,
  • for the purposes of normal soil drainage of land used for agriculture, forestry or horticulture,
  • for the purposes of non-commercial horticulture or for the preservation of soil fertility outside specially protected parts of nature and landscape;
• provided that no significant adverse effects on the water balance are to be feared.
• Responsible: the district administrators of the administrative districts or the mayors of the independent cities

Water law decisions are made by the responsible water authorities. As a rule, these are the district administrators of the administrative districts or the mayors of the independent cities.

The notification can be made via an online service. For some, often recurring cases, some lower water authorities also have forms available. Please enquire.