The Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

CHAPTER VSUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS OF PART IV

Power to give effect to international agreements

135.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the Department may by regulations provide that the provisions of Chapters I to III shall have effect with such modifications as may be prescribed for the purpose of enabling Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom to give effect—

(a)to any Community obligations; or

(b)to any international agreement to which the United Kingdom is for the time being a party.

(2) DOE may by regulations provide that the provisions to which paragraph (3) applies shall have effect with such modifications as may be prescribed for the purpose of enabling Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom to give effect—

(a)to any Community obligations; or

(b)to any international agreement to which the United Kingdom is for the time being a party.

(3) Paragraph (2) applies to—

(a)Article 107(2);

(b)Articles 118 to 123; and

(c)any other provisions of Chapter III so far as they have effect for the purposes of or in relation to those Articles.

(4) Paragraph (1) shall not authorise any modification of—

(a)any provision to which paragraph (2) applies;

(b)any of Articles 111, 112 and 116; or

(c)any other provisions of Chapters I to III so far as they have effect for the purposes of or in relation to those Articles.

Interpretation

136.—(1) In this Part—

“connection notice” shall be construed in accordance with Article 79(10);

“consumer”, in relation to a supply of water provided by a water undertaker to any premises, means a person who is for the time being the person on whom liability to pay charges to the undertaker in respect of that supply of water would fall;

“food production purposes” means the manufacturing, processing, preserving or marketing purposes with respect to food or drink for which water supplied to food production premises may be used, and for the purposes of this definition “food production premises” means premises used for the purposes of a business of preparing food or drink for consumption otherwise than on the premises;

“necessary works” includes works carried out, in exercise of any power conferred by or under any statutory provision, by a person other than a water undertaker;

“private supply” means, subject to paragraph (2), a supply of water provided otherwise than by a water undertaker (including a supply provided for the purposes of the bottling of water);

“private supply notice” shall be construed in accordance with Article 119(5);

“water fittings” includes pipes (other than water mains), taps, cocks, valves, ferrules, meters, cisterns, baths, water closets, soil pans and other similar apparatus used in connection with the supply and use of water;

“wholesome” shall be construed subject to the provisions of any regulations made under Article 107.

(2) For the purposes of any reference in this Part to a private supply, or to supplying water by means of a private supply, water shall be treated as supplied to any premises not only where it is supplied from outside those premises, but also where it is abstracted, for the purpose of being used or consumed on those premises, from a source which is situated on the premises themselves; and for the purposes of this paragraph water shall be treated as used on any premises where it is bottled on those premises for use or consumption elsewhere.

(3) For the purposes of this Part a service pipe shall be treated as connected with a water main other than a trunk main even if the connection is an indirect connection made by virtue of a connection with another service pipe.

(4) The rights conferred by virtue of this Part as against the owner or occupier of any premises shall be without prejudice to any rights and obligations, as between themselves, of the owner and occupier of the premises.