Water Ordinance (WsV)(724.11).

This Water Ordinance (WsV) of the Canton of Zurich implements the cantonal Water Act (WsG) and federal water‑protection legislation, establishing rules for the management, protection and use of surface and groundwater. It defines planning instruments such as based water maps and registers, procedures for determining water status and boundaries, and processes for designating water‑protection and flood‑protection spaces. The ordinance regulates construction, maintenance and authorisations in watercourses and groundwater areas, sets requirements for drainage, tank and hazardous‑liquid installations, and provides inventories for protection works, events, industry/wastewater and heat‑use systems. It establishes fee and subsidy regimes for water use, abstraction, heat extraction/injection, long‑term occupation of water parcels and material extraction, and sets procedural rules for concessions, permitting, inspections and enforcement. Institutional responsibilities are assigned mainly to the Office for Waste, Water, Energy and Air (AWEL) and the Cantonal Building Department (Baudirektion), with delegated tasks for municipalities, alongside provisions on data publication, cost‑sharing, land readjustment, appeals and transitional arrangements for existing concessions.