Government Decision No. HG731/2025 validating the Regulation on the study, exploitation and protection of groundwater.

This Government Decision approves the Regulation on the study, exploitation and protection of groundwater. It establishes technical measures and requirements for the exploration, design, construction, operation, conservation, rehabilitation and decommissioning of groundwater abstractions (wells, boreholes, drains, spring catchments), with the overarching objectives of preventing pollution, deterioration and premature depletion of groundwater bodies, and of safeguarding groundwater used for drinking water supply. It clarifies institutional responsibilities of the Ministry of Environment, the National Administration “Apele Moldovei”, the Environment Agency and the Environmental Protection Inspectorate, and links groundwater management to environmental impact assessment, drinking water quality legislation and construction law. Substantively, the Regulation details the stages and content of hydrogeological studies (preliminary and definitive), including requirements for data collection, pumping tests, water quality analyses, modelling and assessment of exploitable resources. It sets rules for selecting abstraction types and locations, prioritizing high quality groundwater for drinking and livestock use, and ensuring balance between abstraction and recharge. It prescribes technical standards for design and construction of wells, drains and spring catchments, the preparation and content of the technical file (Cartea tehnică) of each abstraction, and the mandatory delineation, design and periodic revision of sanitary protection zones based on hydrogeological criteria and pollutant transport calculations. The Regulation also defines operational rules for sustainable exploitation, monitoring of quantity and quality, maintenance and intervention methods for clogged or degraded wells, and specific provisions for abstractions used for irrigation and for bottling or therapeutic uses. On protection and risk control, the Regulation prohibits direct discharges of pollutants into groundwater except in narrowly defined and strictly regulated cases (e.g. reinjection of geothermal water, injection related to hydrocarbon extraction, storage of natural gas or CO2 in deep unsuitable formations, scientific or remedial injections), all subject to detailed technical studies and environmental impact assessment. It integrates groundwater recharge (natural and artificial) into management, requires inclusion of preventive and limiting measures for pollutant inputs in river basin management plans, and sets criteria and procedures for exempting certain discharges, conditional on effective monitoring and non compromise of environmental objectives. The text establishes mandatory procedures and technical documentation for conservation, rehabilitation and liquidation of defective or abandoned abstractions, including coordination by “Apele Moldovei” and oversight by the Environmental Protection Inspectorate. Owners and operators are assigned clear duties regarding operation, monitoring, maintenance, sanitary protection, reporting and cooperation with authorities, with timelines for establishing missing sanitary protection zones and for completing conservation or liquidation works.