Snowmaking water: permits and existing water rights before investment

The permit route depends on whether the abstraction concerns public waters, private surface waters or groundwater. Record the intake point, planned volume, pumping periods and technical design. This includes intake structures, pumps, pipes and alterations to existing facilities used for the water abstraction.

The project description should show the full route of the water, from source and abstraction to storage and the snowmaking system. This allows the available water, potential effects on existing rights and the facilities required for the project to be assessed together.

Section 8 WRG describes common use of public waters as ordinary use without special equipment, which does not exclude equal use by others and respects the stated water, bank, rights and public-interest safeguards. A technical withdrawal for snowmaking cannot be justified solely by general access to the water body.

Under section 9(1) WRG, any use of public waters beyond common use requires a permit. This also covers the construction or alteration of facilities serving the water use. Whether a specific abstraction crosses that boundary depends on the type and volume of use and the equipment involved.

The rule on common use in section 8 WRG and section 9 WRG on public waters and private surface waters provide the statutory basis.

For groundwater, section 10(1) WRG provides an exception for a landowner where the use serves necessary household and economic needs and the stated conditions concerning the pumping method or the relationship to the land are met. In all other cases, subsection 2 requires a permit for developing or using groundwater, related interventions in the groundwater regime and the facilities serving that use.

For private surface waters, section 9(2) WRG links the permit requirement to possible effects. These include effects on third-party rights, the slope, course, quality or level of water, and risks to banks or other people’s land. The actual water level and uses in the surrounding area therefore belong in the assessment.

The statutory requirements are set out in section 10 WRG on groundwater. The specific determination provided for public waters does not answer these separate questions.

Under section 12 WRG, the authority must set the amount and type of water use without impairing public interests or existing rights. The Act identifies lawfully exercised water uses other than common use, certain water-use entitlements and ownership of land as existing rights. A project operator should identify known abstractions, permits and affected properties early. Section 12(4) also addresses changes in groundwater levels: they do not prevent a permit if the affected land remains usable as before. The landowner is entitled to appropriate compensation for an expert-forecast deterioration in soil condition.

Available water must be assessed throughout the year. Section 13(1) WRG refers to the applicant’s needs, existing water conditions, the amount and quality of available water under changing water levels, natural groundwater recharge and the need to use water sparingly. Technical measures that are possible under current technology and required by the water conditions must be provided. Under subsection 3, water use must not deprive municipalities, localities or settlements of water needed for firefighting, other public purposes or residents’ household and economic needs. A permit must also preserve part of each inflow for the ecological condition of the water body and other higher-value purposes, especially water supply, under subsection 4.

If the extent of water use at an existing installation is uncertain, section 13(2) WRG sets a default: the water-use right covers the undertaking’s needs at the time of the permit, unless the installation has lower capacity. Compare any planned increase with the permit, the needs at the time it was issued and the installation’s capacity.

Section 12(3) WRG refers to the eighth section of the Act for compulsory rights that may remove or restrict existing rights. This does not establish a blanket route for every snowmaking project. Whether the statutory requirements are met must be assessed against the affected rights and the specific proposal. See section 12 WRG on public interests and existing rights and section 13 WRG on the amount and type of water use.

For public waters, section 9(1) WRG provides for a determination on application as to whether a specified use goes beyond common use. The proposed abstraction must be described in concrete terms. The determination addresses that boundary question and does not replace a permit where the project requires one.

If a permit requirement is already apparent, the operator should prepare the permit route with the actual source, requested volume, operating periods, facilities and affected rights. Where the source classification or the boundary of common use remains unclear, the specific determination for public waters may be considered before the final investment decision.

A project file should identify the source and its location, abstraction data, facility plans, seasonal water availability and known existing uses. Whether expert reports are needed depends on the site and potential effects on water.

Approval for water abstraction does not automatically resolve every water-quality question. Section 32 WRG requires a permit for effects that directly or indirectly impair water quality. Whether this applies depends on the specific technical design and its actual effects.

This does not create an automatic additional permit requirement for every snowmaking installation. If a project involves an effect on water quality or another measure covered by section 32, assess that provision separately. Approvals under other laws do not replace the pollution-control measures required there. The text of section 32 WRG sets out this distinction.