Water Act 1945

9 Combination of undertakers and transfer of undertakings by agreement or compulsorily.

(1) The Minister may, on the application of the water undertakers concerned, make an order providing for—

(a) the joint furnishing by two or more statutory water undertakers, by agreement, of a supply of water;

(b) the constitution, by agreement, of a joint board or joint committee of two or more statutory water undertakers for the purpose of exercising all or any of their functions relating to the supply of water;

(c) in a case where none of the undertakers are a local authority, the amalgamation, by agreement, of the undertakings or parts of the undertakings of two or more statutory water undertakers; or

(d) the transfer, by agreement, to statutory water undertakers of the undertaking or part of the undertaking of any other water undertakers, whether statutory or not.

(2) Where it appears to the Minister to be expedient for the purpose of securing a more efficient supply of water to make provision for any of the matters for which, if the undertakers concerned agreed thereto, provision could be made under the last foregoing subsection, he may by order provide compulsorily for any of those matters.

(3) Any order made under this section may contain such incidental, consequential and supplementary provisions as the Minister thinks necessary or expedient for the purposes of the order, and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, may provide for the transfer of property and liabilities and for the amendment or repeal of any local enactment relating to any of the undertakers.

(4) Any order under this section providing for the constitution of a joint board or joint committee may, if the council of any county in which the joint board or committee will exercise functions undertake to make annual contributions towards the expenses of the joint board or committee, provide for the inclusion of representatives of that council, so, however, that the number of representatives appointed under this subsection shall be less than one half of the total number of members of the joint board or committee.

(5) The provisions of Part I of the First Schedule to this Act shall apply to the making of applications and orders under subsection (1) of this section, and the provisions of Part II of the said Schedule shall apply to the making of orders under subsection (2) of this section, and all orders made under this section shall, in the circumstances specified in paragraph 8 or paragraph 17, as the case may be, of the said Schedule, be provisional only and not have effect until they are confirmed by Parliament.

(6) An order shall not be made under this section for the constitution of any joint board which could be constituted under section six of the Public Health Act, 1936.