Does the well on the estate I buy become mine?

The infrastructure does, but the right to use the water is an administrative title tied to the estate that must be registered and whose change of holder must be notified to the River Basin Authority. An unregistered well transfers the problem, not the right.

Can I dig a new well to irrigate an olive grove?

Only with a concession from the River Basin Authority, and in water bodies in poor condition it may be impossible. The use of up to 7.000 m³ a year by operation of law covers the house and livestock watering, not commercial irrigation.

What fine is there for using an unlegalised well?

It depends on the seriousness: it can range from thousands of euros for a minor infringement to far higher figures if there is damage or large abstractions, as well as the order to cease and the possible sealing or filling of the borehole.

Legalising a well or borehole on an estate in Extremadura: what the law says and how to do it

Since 1986 groundwater has been public domain: a well must be registered in the Water Registry of the Tagus or Guadiana River Basin Authority. Uses of up to 7.000 m³ a year for the house and livestock watering are registered by operation of law; larger abstractions or irrigation need an administrative concession.

The starting point: since 1986 the water in your well is not yours

The 1985 Water Law declared all waters, including groundwater, to be public hydraulic domain. Abstractions that already existed before 1986 could be registered as private waters in the Private Waters Catalogue of each basin, keeping their use; those made afterwards need an enabling title from the administration. That is why two apparently identical wells can be in opposite legal situations: one registered in 1985 is a consolidated right; another drilled in 2005 without papers is an ongoing infringement.

In Extremadura the competent body is the Tagus or the Guadiana River Basin Authority, depending on the basin the estate falls in, except for small abstractions in intra-community basins managed by the Junta.

Uses up to 7.000 m³ a year

Article 54.2 of the Consolidated Text of the Water Law allows groundwater abstractions of up to 7.000 m³ a year for domestic and livestock watering uses to be registered in the Water Registry by operation of law and without a concession. It is the category under which most country-house wells and livestock drinking troughs fit. Registration is requested from the basin authority with the estate's nota simple, the identification of the abstraction and a description of the intended use.

That registration is "by operation of law" does not mean it is automatic or optional: the holder must request it, and the River Basin Authority resolves it. In the meantime, use without registration is punishable.

When a concession is needed

Irrigation, intensive livestock uses, lawns, large pools or any abstraction above 7.000 m³ a year require an administrative water concession: a title for a number of years (normally long, renewable periods) that sets annual volume, use and conditions, including in many cases a compulsory meter. The concession is requested from the River Basin Authority and can take months or more than a year. And there is a real limit: in water bodies declared in poor condition or overexploited, the administration does not grant new concessions or grants them with heavily reduced volumes.

What to do with an old well without papers

It is the most frequent situation on estates bought in Extremadura. The sensible order of action:

Ask the River Basin Authority for a certificate of the abstraction's administrative status or consult its registry: many "paperless" wells turn out to be registered in the name of a previous owner.
If it is registered, notify the change of ownership after the purchase so that the title is in your name.
If it is not registered and the use falls within the 7.000 m³, apply for registration by operation of law.
If the use needs a concession, submit it and record in the sale contract who assumes the risk and the cost.

Using a well without a title can end in a penalty file with a fine and an order to seal or fill the borehole. The guide to water, wells and concessions explains how to check all this before buying; the guide to prior checks helps with the registry side.

Drilling a new borehole

Before calling the drilling contractor you must request authorisation from the basin authority: abstraction works in public hydraulic domain require it even if the use will later be exempt from a concession. The authorisation usually conditions depth, flow and diameter, and requires notification of the completed works. Drilling without it makes illegal even a well that, had authorisation been requested, would have been perfectly viable.

Meters and volume control

Every modern concession, and a good part of the revised registrations, requires measuring what is extracted: approved meter, volume records and, increasingly, telematic transmission to the basin. The authorised volume is not a target to meet but a ceiling: extracting more is an infringement even if the well is perfectly legalised. If you buy an estate with a well in use, ask for the gauging records of recent years: they are the best proof of what the well really gives in summer, which is when it matters.

Well, noria, pond: they are not the same

The pond or small reservoir within the estate follows another route: it occupies a channel or collects surface water, and also needs a title from the River Basin Authority, with dam safety requirements if it exceeds certain sizes. The old noria over a well registered in 1980 may have its private use catalogued, but a "new pond" made with an excavator in a gully is an unauthorised work in public domain. On purchase visits it is advisable to distinguish each water point and ask about its title separately.

Indicative costs and timeframes

Registration by operation of law has no significant fees and is usually resolved in a few months. The concession takes longer and may require technical reports, measurement and approved meters. The cost of drilling a new borehole depends on the depth of the water table in the area and is charged per metre drilled, plus casing, pump and legalisation: overall it is an investment that should be budgeted in thousands of euros, and which in deep dryland areas can multiply. In the Vegas del Guadiana, for example, the water is relatively shallow; in slate dehesas, much less so.