Preventing water pollution while working close to water at fisheries

What you must do

In Northern Ireland you must have consent from the Rivers Agency before you place structures in any waterway that are likely to affect its drainage. Contact your local Rivers Agency office for further information.

Northern Ireland - Rivers Agency Area Offices

DAERA has produced a handbook is for landowners and people and organisations involved in carrying out activities that may alter the physical characteristics or flows of rivers and other waterbodies. The activities covered include dredging and substrate addition, removal of bankside vegetation, bed and bank reinforcements, flow manipulation and culverting.

DAERA: Surface Waters Alterations Handbook

In Scotland, if you carry out building and engineering works in inland waters or carry out activities close to waters that could significantly affect the water environment, you must either:

• comply with certain general binding rules (GBRs) which apply to low-risk activities
• register your activity with SEPA
• obtain a licence from SEPA.

SEPA: Practical guide to the Water Environment Regulations (Adobe PDF - 540KB)

Good practice

Guidance for Pollution Prevention (GPP) 5 contains guidance on measures you can take to avoid causing pollution during building and engineering work.

GPP5 Works and maintenance in or near water (Adobe PDF – 782KB)

SEE ALSO: Fishing and aquaculture

Read about More ways to prevent water pollution on NetRegs