Groundwater protection areas

This map forms part of the Provincial Environmental Regulation Zuid-Holland and contains the groundwater protection areas of the province. The production of this map is based on the current groundwater protection areas, as established by Provinciale Staten under the Provincial Environmental Regulation Zuid-Holland. The Provincial Environmental Regulation 2021 establishes a new groundwater protection area category, the additional strategic stocks. These are areas reserved for future drinking water supply. The map gives an overview of the groundwater protection areas to protect the quality of groundwater with a view to water extraction for the purposes of drinking water supply (zones within it: water extraction areas, groundwater protection zones, drilling-free zones and additional strategic stocks). This overview is based on the Provincial Environmental Regulation Zuid-Holland, as it applies after the adoption of the 10th tranche that entered into force on 11 November 2021. Water extraction areas are a zone of a groundwater protection area, in which groundwater is extracted for the benefit of public drinking water facilities. The groundwater protection zone, drilling-free zone and additional strategic stocks are also part of a groundwater protection area, although they do not necessarily always occur in groundwater protection areas. A groundwater protection area is an area designated under the Provincial Environmental Regulation as referred to in Article 1.2(2)(a) of the Environmental Management Act, for which rules are laid down in the Provincial Environmental Regulation to protect the quality of groundwater for the purpose of water extraction. The designated areas are indicated on the map attached to the Provincial Environmental Regulation. As regards the protection regime, the following distinction can be made: — Wetlands with the strictest regime: bounded by the line from which the groundwater in the aquifer package takes up to 60 days to reach the extraction points (with the exception of the dune area where the entire dune area is kept as a water extraction area). — Groundwater protection zones: bounded by the line on the ground level from which the groundwater reaches the extraction points within 50 years, taking into account the (vertical) journey time through the bottom to the aquifer package, as well as the (horizontal) journey time of the groundwater through the aquifer package. — Drilling-free zones (the least stringent regime): these are determined by the (horizontal) journey time of at least 50 years from the groundwater to the extraction points in the aquifer package. — Additional strategic stocks: the same protection regime applies here as for drilling-free zones.