Schedule 3, Part 3, paragraph 5

For the purpose of paragraphs 7(a)(i) and 8(a)(i) of Schedule 2, the description is the discharge of water to groundwater from a heating or cooling system to which sub-paragraph (3) applies with altered temperature. For the purpose of paragraphs 7(a)(ii) and 8(a)(ii) of that Schedule, the conditions in relation to a groundwater activity of that description are— that nothing must be added to water discharged from the system; that the temperature of water discharged from the system— subject to sub-paragraph (ii), must not exceed 25o C, and must not vary by more than 10o C compared to that in the aquifer from which it was abstracted; that the system must not be on a known contaminated site or have had a previous contaminative use; that water from the system must not be discharged less than 50 metres from a watercourse or groundwater-fed wetland; in relation to Wales, that water from the system must not be discharged— less than 50 metres from a point at which water is abstracted from underground strata, or within a zone defined by a 50-day travel time for groundwater to reach a groundwater abstraction point that is used to supply water for domestic or food production purposes; in relation to England, that water from the system must not be discharged within a groundwater Source Protection Zone 1; that the discharge of water from the system must be to the same aquifer as that from which it was abstracted; that water within the system must not be used for any other purpose. This sub-paragraph applies to a system— that involves— the abstraction of groundwater to obtain heating or (as the case may be) cooling, and the subsequent discharge of that water, and that is— a cooled aquifer system with a volume of less than 1500 cubic metres per day, a balanced system with a volume of less than 430 cubic metres per day, or a heated aquifer system with a volume of less than 215 cubic metres per day. In this paragraph— “balanced system” means a system used for both heating and cooling and where in a 5-year period the ratio of the discharge water temperature to the abstracted water temperature is within the range 0.8 to 1.2; “cooled aquifer system” means a system used for both heating and cooling and where in a 5-year period the ratio of the discharge water temperature to the abstracted water temperature is less than 0.8; “groundwater-fed wetland” means a terrestrial ecosystem directly depending on a body of groundwater (within the meaning of the Water Framework Directive) and includes— a European site (which has the meaning given in regulation 8 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017); a site of special scientific interest (which has the meaning given in section 52(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 ); “heated aquifer system” means a system used for both heating and cooling and where in a 5-year period the ratio of the discharge water temperature to the abstracted water temperature exceeds 1.2.

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Source: legislation.gov.uk · retrieved 2026-07-30