Water Board Regulation

The Water Board Ordinance contains the rules we use to protect our waterways, levees and roads. Different zones (areas of operation) have been defined around these ditches, dikes and roads, and different rules apply to each zone. 

The Water Board Ordinance is based on Article 2.5 of the Omgevingswet and replaces the former Keur.

Current Water Board Ordinance

Amendments Water Board Ordinance 2025

On Dec. 17, the executive board of the Water Board adopted amendments to the Water Board Ordinance. The amendments took effect January 1, 2025, which is why it is called: the Water Board Ordinance 2025. The old regulations continue to apply to permit applications submitted before Jan. 1, 2025.

Prior to this decision, the proposed amendments were made available for public inspection. From October 7, 2024, there was an opportunity to submit views for six weeks. We received views during the public comment procedure. The Notice of Reply to Views contains an overview of the received views, along with the response to them. The submitters of the views have received a personal message about the response to their views. 

The text highlighted in red has been removed from the Regulation. The text highlighted in green has been changed or newly added. Please note that the rules from the Water Board Ordinance should be read in conjunction with the operating areas/restriction areas. Since the Omgevingswet came into force (on January 1, 2024) it is in fact mandatory to link to every rule imposed by a government an area where that rule applies. This is called restriction areas or areas of operation. You can find this at Rules on the Map. 

As of Jan. 1, 2025, the consolidated version of the Water Board Ordinance 2025 is available on the website www.overheid.nl. The text is also added as a pdf document at the bottom of this page under the heading Documents and links.

Theme low-lying areas from Water Board Ordinance 2025

The amendments to the draft Water Board Ordinance included rules on the topic of low-lying areas. On December 3, our executive board decided to remove the topic of low-lying areas from the proposed decision amendments Water Board Ordinance for now. 

The topic will be the subject of the next update: Water Board Regulation 2026 - which is expected to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

More information can be found in the Dec. 9, 2024 news release. 

The Environment Counter

In the Environment Desk, the Rules section on the Map allows you to see what rules apply to a site. Through this section, you can view rules, policies and information about the surrounding area. 

On the same website you will also find the Permit Check. This allows you to check whether you need one or more permits for your plan. Note that some activities must be reported to the government in advance, even if they do not require a permit. You can find this out with the Permit Check. Via the Omgevingsloket you can then also submit your official application or notification.

Maintenance Ordinance

Provisions on maintenance obligations in our management area can be found in the Maintenance Ordinance.  

Annual changes

The Water Board Ordinance is updated annually. 

The amendments take effect annually on the first day of the year and are announced by publication in the Water Board Bulletin. The amendments are first published in draft form and are available for inspection for six weeks. You may submit your view(s) to the Executive Board of the Water Board for six weeks from the day the draft decision is made available for inspection. The board of the dike grave and higher water board will draw up a memorandum responding to the views submitted. Your views may lead to changes compared to the draft decision. The higher water board can also make (ex officio) changes to the content during the process. Those who have submitted views will be informed about how their views have been dealt with. Finally, a decision is made to adopt the final amendments. 

Questions

Do you have questions about the Water Board Ordinance? If so, please contact us via the contact form. On weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. you can reach us by phone at the general telephone number: 072 582 8282. 

See also