Notifying water operations
Smaller-scale water operations do not need a permit – they can be notified to the County Administrative Board instead. This should be done in good time before the activities start.
Activities that must be notified to the County Administrative Board
Examples of water operations not requiring a permit from the court, which are decided upon following notification to the County Administrative Board:
- establishing wetland over an area of less than 5 hectares;
- constructing a facility or filling in a water area, if the bottom surface area affected is no more than 500 metres2 in the case of a water course or no more than 3 000 metres2 in the case of other water areas;
- digging, excavating, dredging or blasting in a water area, if the bottom surface area affected is no more than 500 metres2 in the case of a water course or no more than 3 000 metres2 in the case of other water areas;
- building a bridge, establishing a culvert or replacing a culvert in a water course with an average flow of no more than 1 metre3 per second;
- digging out a water course with an average flow of no more than 1 metre3 per second, if the activities do not constitute land drainage;
- diverting no more than 600 metres3 of surface water per day from a water course, but no more than 100 000 metres3 per year;
- diverting no more than 1 000 metres3 of surface water per day from a water area other than a water course, but no more than 200 000 metres3 per year;
- laying or replacing a cable, a pipe or a line in a water area.
A complete list of the water operations that can be notified to the County Administrative Board can be found in Section 19 of the Ordinance on water operations, etc.
What counts as a water area?
Water areas are areas covered by water at the highest foreseeable water level. The highest foreseeable water level refers to the level that can be foreseen with some probability. For example, it could be high flows that occur every 100 years.
Examples of water areas are:
- lakes
- water courses
- ditches
- wetlands.
Notification fee
The County Administrative Board charges a fee for examining water operations that require notification. The fee is SEK 1 660. You can pay the fee by card while using the e-service, or by bankgiro payment afterwards. Information on how to make the payment is provided during the last step in the e-service. We only start processing your notification once the fee has been paid.
Submit the notification in good time
Notify the operation in good time before you need to start the activities. A water operation requiring notification may only be started 8 weeks after the notification has been made, unless the County Administrative Board stipulates otherwise. Some notifications for water operations can take a long time to process.
Wait for the decision from the County Administrative Board
If you start a notified activity before you have received a decision from the County Administrative Board you may be required to restore the area to its original condition or carry out other corrective measures if the County Administrative Board deems this to be necessary under the Environmental Code. This applies even if 8 weeks have passed since your notification. We therefore recommend you wait for the decision from the County Administrative Board before starting any work.
Once the notification has been examined
Once the notification has been adequately examined, the supervisory authority:
- will determine any prohibitions on the operator as required under the Environmental Code;
- will order the operator to take the precautions required under the Environmental Code, or to apply for a permit in accordance with Chapter 11, Section 9 of the Environmental Code if this is necessary given the operation’s impact on the environment or individual interests;
- will, if no prohibitions, precautions or permits within the meaning of points 1 and 2 are required, inform the notifying party that the notification does not prompt any measures from the authority’s side.
Individual interests – civil law issues
Individual interests and civil law issues are not dealt with in the notification procedure. These may involve issues concerning compensation for encroachment, unforeseeable damage or risk prevention measures that may arise with respect to a notification.
The operator and the affected stakeholder must reach agreement on these issues outside the notification procedure. If the parties are unable to reach agreement, the operation cannot be dealt with as a notification. A permit from the Land and Environment Court will be required instead.
Notifying water operations
The e-services and forms of the County Administrative Board in this field are not available in English. If you wish to submit an application or notification, you may contact the County Administrative Board, which can inform you how to proceed.
Other dispensations and permits may be required
Areas in which water operations are to be undertaken are often subject to shoreline protection. They can also be subject to other protection, e.g. as a nature reserve, Natura 2000 area or water protection zone. Various dispensations or permits are often required to undertake activities in such protected areas.