Water Code (2025)

What matters for an oil & gas company

• Special water use requires a permit — including groundwater abstraction, use of drainage or incidentally extracted groundwater in subsoil operations, and discharge of treated wastewater to surface waters, the subsoil, storage ponds or terrain.
• Discharge or injection into the subsoil of groundwater extracted during subsoil operations needs environmental and special water use permits — except reinjection of formation water produced with hydrocarbons to maintain reservoir pressure.
• Subsoil operations are prohibited within groundwater deposits used or suitable for drinking water supply; subsoil users must prevent pollution and depletion of groundwater.
• Industrial users must introduce water recycling or re-use; drinking water may not be used in industry when other water can be used, unless the process requires it.
• Some requirements start on 1 January 2027, e.g. a plan (for at least five years) to cut water losses and introduce best available technologies as a permit condition.