Wallonia bans livestock access to 36 bodies of water

The Walloon Minister of the Environment, Y. Coppieters, signed a ministerial decree on September 8, 2026, designating 36 water bodies as specific zones within the meaning of Article R.142ter of Book II of the Environmental Code, which contains the Water Code. In these zones, livestock access to watercourses is prohibited. The text was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on October 5, 2026, under reference C − 2026/007159, page 52939 for the French version and 52943 for the Dutch version.

A decretal foundation reactivated after a legal vacuum

The decree is based on Article R.142ter of the Water Code, inserted by a decree of the Walloon Government on October 17, 2013, which was itself based on Article D.33/3, introduced by the decree of October 4, 2018. The Minister recalls that Article 16bis of the law of December 28, 1967, relating to non-navigable watercourses, already allowed for the definition of zones with specific stakes due to the risk of eutrophication, and that 36 water bodies had then been listed in Annex XIXbis of the Water Code.

The decree of October 4, 2018, subsequently mandated the fencing of grazing lands along watercourses classified as non-navigable, without the possibility of derogation, rendering Article R.142bis and Annex XIXbis obsolete; these were repealed by a decree of the Walloon Government on May 23, 2024. The decree of April 25, 2024, relaxed the regime by authorizing, under certain conditions, the opening of fences for four meters, except in zones designated by the Government. In the absence of a new designation, the prohibition of livestock access within these four meters no longer applied: the present decree fills this vacuum.

Thirty-six water bodies, from the Gette to the Biesme

The annex lists the water bodies by code and name. Among the main ones:

DG07R Grande Gette I and HN15R Grande Honnelle;
LE23R Hilan I, LE24R Hilan II, LE27R Ruisseau de Mahoux and LE28R Ruisseau des Forges;
MM26R Molignée I, MM28R Bocq I, MM29R Ruisseau de Crupet, MM30R Bocq II and MM31R Burnot;
MV16R Berwinne I, MV17R Berwinne II, MV25R Gueule I and MV26R Gueule II;
MV07R Hoyoux I, MV08R Ruisseau du Triffoy and MV02R Ruisseau de Solières;
OU22R Ourthe II, OU23R Eau de Somme and OU33R Marchette II;
SA02R Thure, SA03R Hantes, SA04R Biesmes l’Eau, SA11R Eau d’Heure III and SA17R Biesme I;
VE05R Bach and VE08R Ruisseau de Bilstain.

Documented agricultural pollution

The Minister justifies the measure by agricultural pressures recognized as one of the main causes of eutrophication in these 36 water bodies. Direct livestock access harms the aquatic environment, livestock hygiene, as well as the stability of agricultural land and riverbanks. Available data confirm its impact on:

suspended solids and the presence of fecal coliforms;
nitrogen, ammonia, and biological oxygen demand;
the dissolved oxygen saturation rate;
the preservation of spawning grounds, freshwater pearl mussels, and the hydromorphology of watercourses.

The mechanism implements the environmental objectives of Directive 2000/60/EC of 23 October 2000, transposed in Article D.22, § 1, 1°, of the Water Code.

What the text mandates

Article 1 of the decree defines specific zones as the water bodies listed in the annex and prohibits livestock access to watercourses therein. Article 2 provides for publication in the Moniteur belge. The text was signed in Namur on September 8, 2026, by Y. Coppieters, following the opinion of the Council of State.

For farmers and residents of Wallonia, the consequence is direct: in the 36 targeted water bodies, fences along watercourses can no longer be opened to allow livestock to drink, including the four-meter length tolerated elsewhere since 2024. The measure thus reinstates, on these specific sections, the prohibition that prevailed before the 2024 repeal.

Source: Moniteur belge of October 5, 2026, ministerial decree of September 8, 2026, act C − 2026/007159, p. 52939 (FR) / 52943 (NL).