A water-law permit and report - the basics

Knowledge base · August 3, 2026

Many forms of using water - abstraction, discharge, damming, certain works - require formal water-law consent. For those running an activity connected with water, this is an important context in which monitoring also often appears.

This is an informational article - in a specific case always consult the current regulations (the Water Law) and, if needed, the help of a specialist.

What a water-law permit is

It is a kind of water-law consent required, among others, for:

• water abstraction (surface or groundwater),
• discharging sewage into water or into the ground,
• damming and retention, certain works and water structures.

Water-law consents are issued by Wody Polskie.

How long a permit lasts - a worked example

Validity periods are not discretionary: they are set by statute. In Polish water law (the Water Law Act of 20 July 2017, Journal of Laws 2017 item 1566) they run as follows:

The period runs from the day the decision becomes final. The practical consequence for monitoring is the same in every jurisdiction that works this way: with a discharge permit the renewal cycle is a handful of years, and the application for the next period rests on the supporting report - so the measurement series from the whole period is evidence, not an archive.

Check the equivalent provision in your own country - the structure (a permit for a fixed period, a supporting report, renewal on the basis of that report) is common; the numbers are not.

What the water-law report is for

The water-law report is a document (a descriptive and a graphic part) that forms the basis for issuing the permit. It describes, among others, the scope and manner of using the water, the structures and the impact on the aquatic environment - that is, it provides the authority with data for its decision.

The contents of the report are also defined by statute. In the Polish example it consists of a descriptive and a graphic part, and the descriptive part contains, among others, the identification of the installation, the purpose and scope of the intended use of water, a description of the water structures, the type of measuring equipment, the characteristics of the impact on waters and the legal status of the properties.

Note the item “measuring equipment”: the way of measuring is declared in the report itself, so the later monitoring is not free-form - it has to match what was declared.

Renewing the permit

When applying for the next period, you submit the report on the basis of which the previous permit was issued, together with a statement that the data it contains remain current. That is the shortest possible argument for keeping your data properly from day one: in 4, 10 or 30 years you will have to show that nothing has changed - or document what has.

Where monitoring comes in

Permits often impose control obligations - e.g. monitoring the quality and quantity of discharged sewage or of water in the area of impact. Then systematic, reliable data and its reporting become part of the obligations, and its credibility (see QA/QC) - crucial.

Sources

• The example used above: the Water Law Act of 20 July 2017 (Journal of Laws 2017 item 1566, as amended), Section IX “Water-law consent”: Art. 388 (forms of consent), Art. 389 (when a permit is required), Art. 400 (validity periods), Art. 409 (contents of the report). Consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2025 item 960 (ELI) - note that the Act was amended after that consolidation, so check the list of later changes on the act’s page (verified 18 August 2026).
• Limit values in discharge permits follow from implementing regulations; the EU basis is Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste-water treatment, which applies until 1 August 2027, when it is replaced by Directive (EU) 2024/3019.

⚠️ Article numbers and periods are given as of August 2026 and for one jurisdiction. Water law is amended frequently - before you file anything, check the consolidated text in force in your country.

In practice

When monitoring is an obligation, what helps most is order in the data: fixed points, units, guidelines and readiness to export for reports. LimnoLog keeps measurements in this structure, lets you mark guidelines (e.g. the permissible values from the permit) and export the data to Excel for the report.