Open-loop ground source heating and cooling systems4

1

For the purpose of paragraph 5(a)(i) of Schedule 2, the description is the discharge of water to groundwater from a heating or cooling system to which sub-paragraph (3) applies with altered temperature.

2

For the purpose of paragraph 5(a)(ii) of that Schedule, the conditions in relation to a groundwater activity of that description are—

a

that nothing should be added to water discharged from the system;

b

that the temperature of water discharged from the system—

i

subject to sub-paragraph (ii), must not exceed 25^o C, and

ii

must not vary by more than 10^o C compared to that in the aquifer from which it was abstracted;

c

that the system must not be on a known contaminated site or have had a previous contaminative use;

d

that water from the system must not be discharged less than 50 metres from a watercourse or groundwater-fed wetland;

e

that water from the system must not be discharged within—

i

50 metres of a point at which water is abstracted from underground strata, or

ii

a zone defined by a 50-day travel time for groundwater to reach a groundwater abstraction point that is used to supply water for domestic or food production purposes;

f

that the discharge of water from the system must be to the same aquifer as that from which it was abstracted;

g

that water within the system must not be used for any other purpose.

3

This sub-paragraph applies to a system—

a

that involves—

i

the abstraction of groundwater to obtain heating or (as the case may be) cooling, and

ii

the subsequent discharge of that water; and

b

that is—

i

a cooled aquifer system with a volume of less than 1500 cubic metres per day;

ii

a balanced system with a volume of less than 430 cubic metres per day; or

iii

a heated aquifer system with a volume of less than 215 cubic metres per day.

4

In this paragraph—

• “balanced system” means a system used for both heating and cooling and where in a 5-year period the ratio of the discharge water temperature to the abstracted water temperature is within the range 0.8 to 1.2;

• “cooled aquifer system” means a system used for both heating and cooling and where in a 5-year period the ratio of the discharge water temperature to the abstracted water temperature is less than 0.8;

• “groundwater-fed wetland” means a terrestrial ecosystem directly depending on a body of groundwater (within the meaning of the Water Framework Directive) and includes—

  1. a

     a European site (which has the meaning given in regulation 8 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 20108);

  2. b

     a site of special scientific interest (which has the meaning given in section 52(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 19819);

• “heated aquifer system” means a system used for both heating and cooling and where in a 5-year period the ratio of the discharge water temperature to the abstracted water temperature exceeds 1.2.