Denmark’s Environment Ministry has sent a bill for a national ban on pesticide spraying in vulnerable groundwater-forming areas out for public consultation. Water companies and the Danish Society for Nature Conservation welcome the proposal, while the state of pesticide control draws criticism.
The bill would introduce a nationwide spraying ban in areas classified as especially vulnerable groundwater-forming areas, known in Danish as SGO. It has been placed in an eight-week public consultation by the Environment Ministry. The hearing deadline is set for 4 November 2026.
As reported by Arbejderen, Danish water companies and Danmarks Naturfredningsforening have both welcomed the proposed ban. The organizations have long pressed for stronger protection of the areas where drinking water is formed. Their reaction was registered as the consultation opened.
Support and criticism
The same reporting notes that the bill has also met criticism. One line of criticism concerns the control of pesticide use, which critics describe as inadequate. Another concerns the consequences a spraying ban would have for agriculture on the affected land.
Concerns over pesticide control have been raised in Denmark before. The current proposal does not change the control system itself. It targets where spraying may take place, according to Arbejderen’s account of the bill.
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What happens during the consultation
A public consultation, or offentlig høring, allows organizations, authorities and members of the public to submit written responses. The eight-week window runs until the hearing deadline in November 2026. Responses are collected before a final bill can be presented.
The proposal is national in scope. It would apply to designated SGO areas across the country rather than to individual municipalities. Denmark’s drinking water comes almost entirely from groundwater, which is why these areas are mapped and singled out for protection.
Restrictions on chemicals in Danish groundwater areas have expanded in recent years. Denmark has previously moved to ban PFAS pesticides to protect groundwater. The proposal now in consultation would add a geographic ban on spraying in the most vulnerable areas.
No final decision has been made. The bill remains a draft while the consultation runs, and the Environment Ministry has not published a timeline for a vote in the Folketing. Further steps depend on the responses submitted before 4 November 2026.
