Permitting
Legal security to use water with confidence
A drilled well is not, by itself, a permitted well.
Groundwater abstraction is controlled by the states and the Federal District. Procedures vary with the authority, the use, the flow, the location and the status of the project.
The process may include prior authorization to drill, well registration, a pumping test, construction data, water analysis, a technical responsibility note, environmental licensing, a water-use right or classification as insignificant use.
There is no single identical process for all of Brazil. In São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro and the other states, permitting follows the local authority. ANA advises interested parties to contact the state or Federal District body for groundwater. Pará, Rio de Janeiro and Tocantins also use the Águas do Brasil platform at stages of the process.
In Paraná, a tubular well usually needs prior consent and, after drilling, a grant or a registration of use that does not require a grant. IAT asks for flow, depth, construction characteristics, a production test and technical documents.
In Minas Gerais, the review may involve IGAM or, for projects tied to environmental licensing, FEAM. Even inside one state the path changes with how the project is classified.
AS Águas treats permitting as part of water security: gathering the information, preparing the technical file and filing it with the competent authority.
Permitting protects the investment, supports compliance and gives security to use water responsibly.