What steps should you take to build a well in your garden?

Verified 11 April 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

A groundwater abstraction work for domestic use (well and borehole) must be declared in town hall at least 1 month before work starts.

You must complete a declaration of work form.

Declaration of work: sampling, drilling and boreholes for domestic use

You must attach an extract from the cadastre (or a plan of location of the work on the scale of 1/25000). It can be obtained online:

Search, consultation and order of sheets of the cadastral plan

All documents must be sent to the City Hall by registered letter with notice of receipt.

Who shall I contact

Before you begin your work, you must report your project to underground network operators, through an online service:

Online service Networks and Pipelines

If you intend to build a well that is more than 10 meters deep, you must also file a prior declaration with the regional directorate for the environment, planning and housing (Dreal).

The declaration must be submitted at least 1 month before the start of work.

Your Dreal will inform you about the form to fill in.

After construction of the well, an approved laboratory must carry out an analysis of the water intended for human consumption.

At the latest 1 month after the end of the work, you must to declare the work carried out and attach the results of the analyzes of the water of your well on the original form of a declaration of work.

This declaration is sent by registered letter with notice of receipt to the City Hall.

To prevent the risks of water pollution, a drinking water service agent can access your property and proceed to control your well based on the information contained in the declaration of work. Alone water service subscribers can be controlled.

The service ensures that the water safety measures of your well are respected for domestic use. If these measures are not implemented, the service may close the water connection.