Groundwater protection map around drinking water sources

The water extraction area around drinking water extractions from groundwater is the smallest conservation area around a extraction of groundwater for drinking water. It is the border whose inflowing groundwater has 60 days of travel time until extraction. These 60 days of travel through the subsurface are considered to be a minimum travel time to make the water bacteriologically reliable. Within this area, strict requirements apply to the activities that may take place. The groundwater protection area is determined by the povincie and laid down in the Provincial Environmental Regulation. The area is usually determined on the basis of a calculated residence time of a 25-year water particle in the aquifer package where drinking water abstraction takes place. The 100-year zones and the repatriation areas surrounding drinking water extraction give the area in which the groundwater is 100 years or less on its way to extraction. This zone can be established by the province for highly vulnerable groundwater extractions. It differs from one province to another. Depending on the province, rules may apply on the basis of the Provincial Environmental Regulation (Environmental Management Act) or Spatial Planning Act. Spatial stimulus policy is almost always applicable to take into account the drinking water interest. The drilling-free zones are set to prevent sealing layers in the subsoil (e.g. clay or loam layers) from being pierced. These layers provide additional protection against the rinsing of contaminants into deeper groundwater intended for drinking water production in vulnerable extractions. In addition to these local drilling-free zones around extractions, a number of regional drilling-free zones are also shown on this map. An example of this is the Central Slenk. This area of Horsten and Slenken is protected with a drilling-free zone because of its status as a geological monument.