Water Approval: Watercourse Alteration

Note: What counts as a "watercourse" is explained under Additional Information, below.

Any persons or persons who wish to use or alter a watercourse or a water resource or any natural body of water by:

1. constructing or maintaining a culvert;
2. constructing or maintaining a bridge which is in the water course, or using equipment closer than 3 metres from the water course;
3. constructing or maintaining a causeway, wharf, weir, fishway or other instream structure;
4. removing material from a surface water course;
5. diverting a water course from its natural channel;
6. installing or maintaining fishing equipment, fishway, counting fence, fish habitat improvement structure, aquaculture cage or any similar structure in a water course;
7. dredging or any other modification of a surface water course;
8. installing or maintaining a pipeline, cable or other equipment in a surface water course;
9. placing rock or other erosion protection material in a surface water course;
10. any other alteration of a surface water course or the flow of the water.

1. use of seawater;
2. use of brackish water from an intertidal zone of a river estuary;
3. maintenance of lands and structures incorporated by marsh bodies under the Marshland Reclamation Act .

Category 1:  $54.41
Category 2:  $108.33
Category 3:  $272.07

1. Navigable Water Protection Act, 1985, Transport Canada;
2. Use of Crown Lands; See N.S. Department of Natural Resources;
3. Building permit, local Municipality .

1) "Watercourse" means any creek, brook, stream, river, lake, pond, spring, lagoon or any other natural body of water, and includes all the water in it, and also the bed and the shore (whether there is actually any water in it or not). It also includes all ground water.

2) "Water resource" means all fresh and salt (marine) waters, including all surface water, groundwater and coastal water.

The definitions of these terms are spelled out in the N.S. Environment Act; see Legislative Authority, below.

Division I  Activities According to Category

Category I

1. the construction or maintenance of a culvert in a manner consistent with current applicable guidelines and standards issued by the Department, a culvert installed between June 1 and September 30 of any year (Culvert Notification or Notification)

Category II

1. the construction or maintenance of a culvert
2. the construction or maintenance of a bridge where
1. a portion of the structure of the bridge is in a watercourse;
2. use of equipment in the watercourse or 3 m from the edge of the watercourse is required
3. the construction or maintenance of a wharf
4. the construction or maintenance of a weir, fishway or other instream structure
5. the installation or maintenance of fishing equipment, a fishway, a counting fence, a fish habitat improvement structure, an aquaculture cage or any similar structure in a watercourse
6. the placement of rock or other erosion protection material in a surface watercourse

Category III

1. the construction or maintenance of a dam
2. the storage of water in amounts of 24 000 m3 or greater
3. the construction or maintenance of a causeway
4. the removal of material from a surface watercourse
5. the diversion of a watercourse from its natural channel
6. the dredging or any other modification of a surface watercourse
7. the installation or maintenance of a pipeline, cable or other equipment in a surface watercourse
8. any other alternation [alteration] of a surface watercourse or the flow of the water therein