The Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

Byelaws with respect to undertakers' waterways and land

218.—(1) Every relevant undertaker shall have power to make such byelaws as are mentioned in paragraph (2) with respect to any waterway owned or managed by that body and with respect to any land held or managed with the waterway.

(2) The byelaws referred to in paragraph (1) in relation to any waterway or to any land held or managed with any such waterway are byelaws for any of the following purposes, that is to say—

(a) the preservation of order on or in any such waterway or land;

(b) the prevention of damage to anything on or in any such waterway or land or to any such land;

(c) securing that persons resorting to any such waterway or land so behave as to avoid undue interference with the enjoyment of the waterway or land by others.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of any of the sub-paragraphs of paragraph (2), the byelaws mentioned in that paragraph include byelaws—

(a) regulating sailing, boating, bathing and fishing and other forms of recreation;

(b) prohibiting the use of the waterway in question by boats which are not for the time being registered, in such manner as may be required by the byelaws, with the undertaker making the byelaws;

(c) requiring the provision of such sanitary appliances as may be necessary for the purpose of preventing pollution;

(d) providing for a contravention of the byelaws to constitute a summary offence punishable, on summary conviction, by—

(i) a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or such smaller sum as may be specified in the byelaws; and

(ii) in the case of a continuing offence, an additional fine not exceeding one twentieth of level 5 on the standard scale for each day during which the offence continues after written notice of the offence is given by the undertaker making the byelaws;

(e) authorising the making of reasonable charges in respect of the registration of boats for the purposes of the byelaws.

(4) Schedule 8 shall have effect with respect to byelaws under this Article.

(5) Byelaws made under this Article shall cease to have effect at the end of the period of 10 years beginning with the day on which they were made; but the Department may by order make provision in relation to any particular byelaws for those byelaws to continue to have effect for such period after the time when they would otherwise cease to have effect as may be specified in the order.

(6) In this Article—

“boat” includes a vessel of any description, and “boating” shall be construed accordingly;

“waterway” means any lough, river, canal, reservoir or other waters which are, or can reasonably be rendered, suitable for sailing, boating, bathing or fishing.