Incorrect or misleading data of water consumption can result in the double hit of a penalty fine and a cross compliance contravention.
The warning comes after a Suffolk farmer was faced with a £5k court bill after providing misleading information about the amount of water abstracted.
It emerged in court that the farmer feared losing his licence or having his abstraction limit reduced because of past under-use and so falsely declared abstracting more water than allowed by the licence.
Paul Hammett, NFU water resources specialist, acknowledged concerns among some members about current and future regulatory threats to irrigation licences provoked by proposals for abstraction reform.
However he suggested that, in future, continued business justification for the licensed abstraction limit could be just as important as recent evidence of the volume of water actually used.
“The prosecutor in this case representing the Environment Agency made it clear that, in future, no action would be taken against an abstractor by the regulator without first looking at about 10 years of records. The Agency is also committed to prior discussion with the licence holder before taking any action,” said Mr Hammett.