The Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

General functions of DOE in relation to private supplies

118.—(1) DOE shall—

(a) take all such steps as it considers appropriate for keeping itself informed about the wholesomeness and sufficiency of private supplies;

(b) maintain a register of private supplies used for domestic or food production purposes.

(2) Where DOE is satisfied—

(a) that any private supply used for domestic or food production purposes to any premises is, has been or is likely to become unwholesome or (so far as any such premises are concerned) insufficient for domestic and sanitary purposes; and

(b) that the unwholesomeness or insufficiency of any such supply is, was or is likely to be such as to cause a danger to life or health;

DOE shall notify the district council for the district, and the Health and Social Services Board for the area, in which the premises are, and the supply is, situated.

(3) DOE may by regulations make such provision, supplementing the provisions of this Article, as DOE considers appropriate for—

(a) obtaining information about the quality and sufficiency of private supplies, including information as to the source of the supplies and the premises supplied by such supplies;

(b) regulating the performance of any function under this Article; and

(c) prescribing the particulars in respect of each private supply to be recorded in the register maintained under paragraph (1)(b).

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (3), regulations under that paragraph may—

(a) prescribe the matters to be taken into account in determining, for the purposes of paragraph (1), what is appropriate;

(b) provide, for the purposes of this Article, for such samples of water to be taken and analysed at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed;

(c) provide for functions under this Article to be carried out by prescribed persons;

(d) provide for the recovery by DOE from prescribed persons of such amounts as may be prescribed in respect of expenses reasonably incurred by DOE under this Article.