Private water supplies: registration and licences

​​​What borehole or well need to be registered

You need to register your borehole or well if you:

• take water from a borehole or well solely for the domestic purposes of a household regardless of how much water you take. This still applies if you have a Jersey Water mains supply and you use your borehole or well to water, for example, your garden or wash your car
  
• take water from boreholes and wells for non-domestic use if the quantity does not exceed 15 cubic metres (3,300 gallons) in any 24 hour period
  

You can also register water taken from a stream or pond for domestic supply.

A registration is also needed if you take or impound water to prevent interference with or damage to any civil engineering or construction works. For example, you create a dam, stream or an irrigation reservoir.

Contact us if you're unsure that your water abstraction is already registered. You'll need to provide the full property address.

Register your borehole or well

Registering your borehole or well is free.

Complete the application form below to register your:

• borehole
• well
• stream
• spring
• pond abstraction

You should send us your original form with a map clearly showing the position of the water source with a cross. Contact us if you need a suitable map.

Application form to register your borehole or well

Transfer, amend or revoke your registration

You can transfer your registration to a new holder by part completing the form below. The new holder should then complete their section of the form and send it to us.

You'll need to transfer your registration if the property is being sold.

Your registration can be revoked if the borehole or well will no longer be used for any purpose.

You should amend the registration if:

• the property with the borehole or well supply changes
• a business starts to use the water source

Contact us if you're unsure of your registration number.

This form should not be used for licence transfers.

Registration transfer or amendment form

Location of your borehole or well

The Farm Risk Map shows the reported locations of registered and licenced:

• boreholes
• wells
• springs

The locations were typically provided by the original registration or lic​ence holder and we cannot verify the accuracy of the reported location.

Farm Risk Map (Jersey Water Pollution Risk Map)

​For more information on the farm risk map see prevent water pollution: borehole maps and farm waste management.

Licensing your borehole, well, stream or reservoir abstraction

You'll need a licence if you:

• abstract more than 15 cubic metres (3,300 gallons) in any 24 hour period from surface (stream or reservoir) or sub-surface (borehole or well) waters for non-domestic use
  
• propose to alter an existing impoundment  in such a way that will alter the level, flow or character of water in a source of supply or affect wildlife or plants dependent on the source of water. Impoundment include, for example, a dam, stream or irrigation reservoir. You may need planning permission
  
• propose to construct a new impoundment. You may need planning permission
  

You do not need to licence or register water supplies provided by Jersey Water or water collected by rain water tanks.

Apply for a licence

Contact us if you need to apply for or transfer a licence.

Licence fee

Your annual licence fee will be based on the quantity of water that you're allowed to take under your licence. You'll pay the same charge even if you take less water than your licence allows.

You should carefully assess your water requirements before you apply for a licence. Make sure you do not underestimate your requirements as this could lead to non-compliance with the abstraction limit specified in your licence. 

The licence application process and Gazette policy

The Water Resources (Jersey) Law 2007 requires details of water abstraction or impounding licence applications to be published in the Jersey Gazette. The Gazette notice has a minimum publication and representation time period as set out in the Law, before a technical assessment is conducted. At which point the licence application is considered, and if approved, granted. The applicant should consider that this overall process can therefore take a longer period of time. Impoundments or abstraction over 15 cubic metres per 24 hour period will not be allowed until the whole process has taken place, and if the application is approved.

The following policy document provides common situations where licence applications would or would not be published in the Jersey Gazette. Amending an existing licence can affect its historic status. Further information is provided in the policy, including details of the renewal phase when a licence expires and details of the technical assessments undertaken.

Water Resources Law Gazette policy

The Water Resources Law

Water is an essential and precious resource protected by the Water Resources (Jersey) Law 2007.

The law sets out to:

• protect, manage and regulate the Island’s inland surface water and sub-surface water resources
• protect current and future public and private abstraction rights. For example, from boreholes and wells
  
• promote and conserve animals, plants and their habitats which rely on the resource
• allocate water resources for the benefit of the Island’s community and environment
• ensure that sufficient water will be available for drinking, industry, agriculture and recreation
  
• develop long-term strategies to minimise the negative impacts of global warming and climate change

Regulatory activity

Jersey's water resources are regulated through the Water Resources (Jersey) Law 2007. Regulatory activities include the licensing and registration of water abstraction, enforcement and groundwater level monitoring.

Water Resources (Jersey) Law 2007 regulatory activity

 Jersey in Figures - Water statistics