Northern Ireland has its own water laws, made in Northern Ireland and enforced by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). Two sets of rules matter to businesses in the water and paper sectors, and they apply to different people.
Which rules apply to you
Northern Ireland water rules by situation
Which regime applies, and who regulates it.
| If you | What applies | Regulator |
|---|---|---|
| Take less than 10 cubic metres of water a day | Permitted without an application, subject to conditions | NIEA (DAERA) |
| Take 10 to under 20 cubic metres a day | Permitted if you notify NIEA of the location and volume within 28 days of starting. No fee | NIEA (DAERA) |
| Take 20 cubic metres a day or more, for example a paper or pulp mill | Abstraction licence under the 2006 Regulations. Application fee £214 from 1 April 2026 | NIEA (DAERA) |
| Build, alter or operate a dam or weir | Licence, unless it is a small weir that Schedule 1 permits. The safe reading is a weir that is not associated with an abstraction, cannot control the upstream level and cannot create a drop of more than 1 metre. The wording is unclear, so ask NIEA before relying on it | NIEA (DAERA) |
| Supply drinking water as an appointed water undertaker | Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 | DAERA, through the Drinking Water Inspectorate |
| Run a private supply to business premises, such as a borehole | Private Water Supplies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (not covered in this guide) | Drinking Water Inspectorate |
| Buy water from NI Water | No duty on you under the 2017 Water Quality Regulations. The undertaker carries the duty | Drinking Water Inspectorate (for NI Water) |
Taking water or impounding it: the licence
Planning an application for a mill
- Start early. NIEA has 4 months to decide, but the clock stops while it waits for information it has asked you for, while a public inquiry report is awaited and during any environmental impact assessment stage. An application that has to be advertised needs time for the advertisement (within 28 days of NIEA's notice) and then a further 28 days for comments.
- Know your number. Work out the maximum daily volume per intake and per site. The volume factor in the annual charge starts above 100 cubic metres a day, so it pays to have a measured figure rather than an estimate.
- Consider whether water is returned. The annual charge counts water that is removed and not returned directly to the same waterbody as consumptive. A process that returns most of the water has a very different charge from one that evaporates it.
- Keep your licence alive. A licence can be transferred to a new owner for a £48 fee, paid by the new holder, and it can be surrendered if NIEA accepts that stopping is unlikely to harm the water environment.
Supplying drinking water: the 2017 Regulations
Other nations
England and Wales abstraction licences are issued by the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales, and Scotland regulates abstraction through SEPA. See the Get authorisation for a water activity in Scotland (EASR) guide for Scotland. A licence issued in one nation does not cover a site in another.
Legal basis
Primary legislation and key regulations
Official guidance
DAERA - applying to abstract or impound water (opens in a new tab)
DAERA - abstraction and impoundment fees and charges (opens in a new tab)
DAERA - Drinking Water Inspectorate annual report on drinking water quality (opens in a new tab)
Water Abstraction and Impoundment (Licensing) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (opens in a new tab)
Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (opens in a new tab)