Water abstraction licensing: changes to exemptions in England and Wales
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
Our response sets out the decisions we have taken following this consultation.
We will now make changes to the exemptions in the abstraction licensing system. We will lay regulations in Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales that will take effect on 1 January 2018.
Abstractors who were previously exempt will then be able to start applying for licences.
Feedback received
Detail of feedback received
There were 86 responses to the consultation.
Original consultation
Consultation description
We want to know what you think about our plans to bring most exempt abstractors into the licensing system (‘New Authorisations’). This will allow the regulators to better manage water resources and help to balance the needs of all abstractors and the environment.
Both existing licensed abstractors and exempt abstractors will be interested in the consultation and we encourage you to share this widely. The consultation document also contains our response to the 2009 consultation.
Further information
- Welsh Government: changes to water abstraction licensing exemptions in England and Wales (New Authorisations) consultation in English and Welsh
- Water management: abstract or impound water
- Reforming the water abstraction management system: making the most of every drop
Updates to this page
Last updated 31 October 2017 + show all updates
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Added the government response to the consultation.
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Summary of responses added.
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First published.