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
⚠️ 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. So always report your well, even when it is exempt.
📎 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). 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. A household watering the garden and flushing the toilet usually stays well below that.
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 drinking-water protection zone need a permit or notification, and deep boreholes are forbidden there.
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; in Brussels every abstraction needs a declaration or an environmental permit.
🔎 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”