Who must comply

The obligation does not depend on the industry, the size of the company or the volume granted. It depends on one thing: holding a title covering the use of national water.

The obligation to measure

The Federal Duties Act requires concession and allocation holders to measure the volumes of national water they use. Duties are calculated on those volumes, which is why measurement is a fiscal matter as much as a technical one. ¹

The obligation to have the device and maintain it

The National Waters Act adds the other half: the holder must have metering devices and keep them in working order. Measuring badly and not measuring at all carry the same consequence before the authority. ²

Which water uses are covered

• Deep wells and shallow wells.
• Springs and infiltration galleries.
• Direct intakes from surface water bodies.
• Agricultural, industrial and mixed uses covered by a title.

Which sectors

Every sector operating under its own title: agriculture, livestock, agribusiness, industry, mining, energy, public utilities, commerce, real estate, tourism, food, aquaculture, forestry and services. The standard is the same for a sugar mill and for a municipal water utility; what changes is the type of metering system each installation calls for.

What verification actually looks at

Each verification file records the concession title and its holder’s details, the brand, model and serial number of the instrument, its location in UTM coordinates and the outcome of the assessment. If any of those details does not match the water use, the report says so. ³