Can I drill a well?
Usually yes, but almost always after a notification or a permit — and you must register the well. Drilling a garden well and pumping groundwater is possible in all three regions, but rarely without a step. In Flanders it all hinges on VLAREM rubric 53.8: under 500 m³ per year is a simple notification (class 3), between 500 and 30,000 m³ needs a permit (class 2). Fully exempt — outside a drinking-water protection zone — is only a well with a hand pump, or one pumping at most 150 m³/year purely for household use (that limit dropped from 500 to 150 m³ on 8 April 2025). Even an exempt well must be reported to the VMM and the borehole is logged in the DOV database. From 500 m³/year you pay a groundwater levy. In Wallonia drilling has needed authorisation since 2004 and the pumped volume is declared each year before 31 March; in Brussels every abstraction needs a declaration or an environmental permit.
📋 The rules
- Flanders: < 500 m³/year = notification (class 3); 500–30,000 m³ = permit (class 2)
- Exempt (outside a protection zone): a hand-pump well, or ≤ 150 m³/year household use (since 8 April 2025)
- Even when exempt: report it to the VMM; the borehole goes into the DOV database
- Groundwater levy from 500 m³/year; below that, exempt
- Wallonia: drilling has needed authorisation since 2004; declare the volume each year before 31 March
- Brussels: every abstraction needs a declaration or an environmental permit
🔓 Exceptions
- In a catchment or protection zone I or II: boreholes deeper than 2.5 m are forbidden (except for drinking water)
- Since 2025 in Flanders: a logbook and flow meter are required, except for a hand pump or household well
- In a type-III drinking-water protection zone, even hand pumps and household wells have needed a permit or notification since late 2022
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Pumping without the required notification or permit is an environmental offence: you risk administrative or criminal fines, an order to stop the abstraction, and an obligation to backfill an unauthorised or disused well — and sealing a borehole quickly costs more than the notification would have. Count on the side duties too: from 500 m³ a year you pay the groundwater levy, and without the required logbook and flow meter you cannot prove you stay under that threshold. In Wallonia, a missing yearly declaration before 31 March is itself a breach.
📎 Official sources
- DOV · VLAREM rubric 53.8 (groundwater) →
- Departement Omgeving Flanders · household groundwater (rubric 53) →
- Bruxelles Environnement · groundwater rules →
- wallonie.be · class 3 environmental declaration →
❓ Frequently asked
Can I drill my own garden well?
Yes, but in Flanders you must notify it (under 500 m³/year) or apply for a permit (above that). Only a hand pump or a well up to 150 m³/year for household use is exempt — and even that is reported to the VMM.
Do I have to pay to pump groundwater?
Only from 500 m³ per year, via the VMM groundwater levy; below that you are exempt. A household watering the garden and flushing the toilet usually stays well below that threshold.
What if my well is in a protection zone?
Stricter rules apply: since late 2022, even hand pumps and household wells in a type-III protection zone need a permit or notification, and in zones I and II boreholes deeper than 2.5 m are forbidden.
Does this also apply in Wallonia and Brussels?
Yes, but differently: in Wallonia the drilling itself has needed authorisation since 2004 and the volume is declared yearly before 31 March; in Brussels every abstraction needs a declaration or an environmental permit.
Do I need a logbook and a flow meter?
In Flanders yes, since 2025: a logbook and flow meter are compulsory, except for a hand pump or a household well. They are also how you prove you stay under the 500 m³ a year threshold.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “drill well permit belgium”
- “pump groundwater notification”
- “garden well rules flanders”
- “groundwater levy 500 m3”
- “well permit wallonia”
- “hand pump well exempt 150 m3”