16Discharge of water
(1)The authorised undertaker may use any available watercourse or any public sewer or drain for the drainage of water, and for that purpose may—
(a)lay down, take up and alter pipes; or
(b)make openings into, and connections with the watercourse, public sewer or drain,
on any land within the limits of deviation or the limits of land to be acquired or used.
(2)The authorised undertaker shall not discharge any water into any artificial watercourse, or any public sewer or drain, except with the consent of the person to whom it belongs; and such consent may be given subject to such terms and conditions as the person may reasonably impose but shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
(3)The authorised undertaker shall not make any opening into any public sewer or drain except in accordance with plans approved by, and under the superintendence (if provided) of, the person to whom the sewer or drain belongs, but such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
(4)The authorised undertaker shall take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that any water discharged under the powers conferred by this section is as free as may be practicable from gravel, soil or other solid substance or oil or matter in suspension.
(5)Any difference under this section arising between the authorised undertaker and the owner of an artificial watercourse or a public sewer or drain shall, unless the parties otherwise agree, be determined by arbitration.
(6)Nothing in this section shall affect the operation of Part IV of the 1991 Act or the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (SSI 2005/348).
(7)In this section—
“public sewer or drain” means a sewer or drain which belongs to Scottish Water, a private provider who has made an agreement with Scottish Water under section 1(2)(b) of the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968 (c. 47) (duty of local authority to provide sewerage for their area) or a roads authority; and
“watercourse” includes all rivers, streams, ditches, drains, cuts, culverts, dykes, sluices, sewers and passages through which water flows except a public sewer or drain.