Protected area of natural water accumulation (CHOPAV)

Protected areas of natural water accumulation (chráněné oblasti přirozené akumulace vod, CHOPAV) are, under Section 28 of the Czech Water Act, areas whose natural conditions make them a significant natural store of water. The government designates them by regulation. Three government regulations from 1978 to 1981 (No. 40/1978, 10/1979 and 85/1981 Coll.) are still in force and designate 19 areas in total: mountain areas such as Šumava, Krkonoše, Jeseníky, Beskydy or Brdy, and basins and chalk areas such as the North Bohemian and East Bohemian Cretaceous, the Třeboň Basin or the Quaternary of the Morava river.

What is banned in a CHOPAV

To the extent set by the government regulations, the Water Act bans in a CHOPAV:

• reducing the area of forest land and draining forest and agricultural land,
• extracting peat, open-cast mining or other earthworks that would expose a continuous groundwater table,
• mining and processing radioactive raw materials and storing radioactive waste,
• storing carbon dioxide in hydrogeological structures holding groundwater reserves.

The regulations tie the bans to large scales: for example reducing forest by more than 25 ha in a single case, or draining more than 50 ha of contiguous agricultural land or 250 ha of forest land. They also ban building certain large operations, such as pig fattening units for more than 5,000 animals, oil storage with tanks over 1,000 m³ or solid-fuel power plants over 200 MW. The Ministry of the Environment may grant an exception with the government's consent. An owner who suffers damage from the ban on reducing forest or on drainage is entitled to compensation.

What it means for a buyer

For a flat, a family house or a garden a CHOPAV brings practically no restrictions; the bans target large interventions in the water regime of the landscape. It is not the same as a water source protection zone, which protects a specific drinking water source and whose conditions may also affect a well or a cesspit. The T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute (VÚV TGM) keeps the register of CHOPAV areas and shows their boundaries in its HEIS map portal.

Frequently asked questions

Can I build a house or a well in a CHOPAV?

A CHOPAV itself does not ban a family house or a well; the bans in the regulations concern large interventions and operations. Building is still decided by the zoning plan and the building permit, and the usual Water Act rules apply to a well.

How do I find out whether a plot lies in a CHOPAV?

VÚV TGM publishes the boundaries in the HEIS maps. CHOPAV areas are also among the phenomena tracked in spatial analytical data.