Information for licence holders
What can I do to prepare?
We recommend you research ways in which you can reduce your water consumption and conducting a ‘water audit’ can be an effective way to do this. An audit will determine your current water efficiency and highlight water saving opportunities such as adapting business practices or investing in innovative water saving devices.
Once you have reduced your water consumption, you may wish to consider alternative water supplies and water storage solutions. You could look to invest in a storage reservoir(External link) or consider collecting and storing rainwater, known as rainwater harvesting(External link).
You may wish to work with other abstractors in your area to find a shared solution.
How will you determine if my licence is sustainable?
The Environment Agency has worked with Natural England to determine river, groundwater and surface water flow objectives which will protect and restore the special habitats and species on the SSSIs.
We model all existing abstraction licences to understand how they are impacting on river, groundwater and surface water flows through the SSSIs. We will compare these results with the flow objectives to highlight any licences which may be causing undesirable changes either on their own or collectively with others.
How will you change my licence?
Where a licence application has been submitted for a renewal or licence variation
If we receive a licence application from you, we will assess your proposal and determine your application. If sustainability changes are required a new or varied licence will be issued upon determination, in line with the required changes. Please be aware your licence application may be on hold whilst our investigations take place.
Where no licence application has been submitted
The easiest way to change your licence is to apply voluntarily to vary it under Section 51 of the Water Resources Act 1991. We will explain how your licence needs to be changed and you will need to fill in a short form to say you want your licence to change in this way. We will then consider your application, and if satisfied with the proposed change to your licence, we will issue the varied version to you.
If you do not volunteer to change your licence then we will serve notice of our proposal to change it under Section 52 of the Water Resources Act 1991.
If you do change my licence as part of this project, will it be sustainable in the future?
Any licence changes we identify will be made to protect the conservation status of The Broads SAC. We are also required to consider the environmental sustainability of abstraction at a wider catchment scale under the requirements of the Water Framework Directive.
This may mean that we need to make further changes to licences in the future; particularly in the light of climate change and changing patterns of water use due to population growth.