Water source protection zone (ochranné pásmo vodního zdroje)

A water source protection zone (ochranné pásmo vodního zdroje, OPVZ) protects the yield, quality and health safety of a groundwater or surface water source used for drinking water supply. Under Section 30 of the Czech Water Act, the water authority designates it by a measure of general nature for sources with an average abstraction above 10,000 m³ a year and for groundwater sources of bottled infant or spring water. For serious reasons it may also designate one for smaller sources.

Two grades of protection

• Grade I protects the immediate surroundings of the intake. For a groundwater source it normally extends at least 10 m from the intake, in justified cases it may be smaller. Entry and driving into a grade I zone are prohibited, except for the authorised water abstractor and exceptions allowed by the authority.
• Grade II lies outside grade I and may consist of several separate parts within the catchment or hydrogeological district.
• In both grades, activities that damage or threaten the source, as defined in the measure establishing the zone, are prohibited.

What it means for owners and buyers

Besides banned activities, the measure may set technical requirements and the manner and duration of restrictions on the use of land and buildings in the zone. For a proven restriction of use, the owner, tenant or lessee is entitled to compensation paid by whoever has the right to abstract water from the source; if they cannot agree, a court decides. Water source protection zones are marked in the land register as a type of protection for the affected parcel, but the detailed conditions are only in the measure of general nature. The boundaries are also shown in the HEIS map of the T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute.

Frequently asked questions

Do old “hygiene protection zones” still apply?

Yes. Zones set under earlier regulations are treated as protection zones under Section 30 of the Water Act until the authority changes or cancels them. According to the Ministry of the Environment, this also covers the so-called hygiene protection zones (pásma hygienické ochrany, PHO). Grade III zones were abolished by the 1998 amendment of the Water Act (Act No. 14/1998 Coll.).

Can one build in the zone?

It depends on the conditions of the particular zone. Under Section 17 of the Water Act, building in a water source protection zone requires the water authority's consent; for projects that need a single environmental opinion (jednotné environmentální stanovisko), this is assessed within that opinion instead. For a plot with its own well, cesspit or household treatment plant, it pays to check the zone conditions in advance. It is not the same as a utility protection zone.