Part III Powers of Water Authorities for the purposes of Water Supply

33 Temporary discharge of water into watercourses.

(1)

Subject to this section F1where Scottish Water is carrying out or is about to carry out the construction, alteration, repair, cleaning or examination of any reservoir, well or borehole, line of pipes or other work forming part of F2its undertaking F3, it may cause the water therein to be discharged into any available watercourse, and for that purpose may lay and maintain in any F4road or in any land not forming part of a F4road, F5. . . F6, all necessary discharge pipes and apparatus; and such statutory provisions with respect to the breaking open of F4roads as are applicable to F7Scottish WaterF6 shall, with any necessary modifications and adaptations, apply accordingly.

(2)

The power conferred by subsection (1) to lay and maintain discharge pipes and apparatus in land, other than land forming part of a F8road, shall not be exercised unless reasonable notice has been given to the owner and the occupier of that land.

(3)

Except in a case of emergency and except insofar as may be otherwise agreed in writing between F9Scottish WaterF10 and the authority or board concerned, F9Scottish WaterF10 shall—

(a)

not less than seven days before commencing to discharge any such water through a pipe exceeding nine inches in diameter, give notice of F11its intentions

F12(i)

to the fishery district board of any fishery district within which

F13(ii)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

any watercourse into which the water is to be discharged is situated; F14and

(ii)

to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

(b)

have due regard to any representations which may be made to F15it as to the time, mode and rate of discharge with a view to avoiding or minimising injury or inconvenience therefrom; and

(c)

where the water is to be discharged into any river, canal or other inland navigation in respect of which a navigation authority exercise functions, not discharge the water without the written approval of the navigation authority, or except at such times as that authority may approve and in a manner approved by F16it as not likely to injure the river, canal or navigation or the banks thereof, or interfere with traffic thereon.

(4)

Whenever F17Scottish Water proposes to discharge water on a number of occasions during a period, the giving by F18it of a general notice to that effect, accompanied by such particulars as it is reasonably practicable for F18it to give, shall constitute sufficient compliance by F19it with the provisions of subsection (3)(a).

(5)

In the case of a river, subsection (3)(c) shall not apply if the point of discharge into the river is more than three miles above the limits within which the navigation authority exercise jurisdiction.

(6)

An approval under subsection (3)(c)—

(a)

shall not be withheld unreasonably, and any question whether it is withheld unreasonably or not shall be determined by the Secretary of State;

(b)

shall be deemed to have been given unless notice of disapproval is given to F20Scottish WaterF21 within seven days after the making of the application for the approval.

(7)

If F22Scottish Water is requested by—

(a)

the owner or occupier or any land which abuts on a watercourse at a point within three miles of any work of F23Scottish WaterF21 from which water may be discharged into that watercourse under this section, or

(b)

the clerk to any association of mill owners any of whose constituent members is such an owner or occupier, or

(c)

the owner or occupier of a salmon fishing on a watercourse at such a point if such watercourse is within a fishery district for which no fishery district board has been constituted,

to register him for the purposes of this section, F23Scottish WaterF21 shall enter his name and address in a register kept by F24it for the purpose and, so long as his name and address appear in the register, shall, except in a case of emergency and except insofar as may be otherwise agreed with him in writing, and unless the point at which the water is to be discharged is situated downstream of the land in respect of which he is so registered, send to him in respect of that watercourse the like notices as F25it is(in the absence of any emergency or agreement to the contrary) required under subsection (3)(a) to send to a fishery district board.

(8)

Except insofar as may be otherwise agreed in writing, where F26Scottish Water discharges water during an emergency, F27it shall forthwith give to the boards, authorities and persons registered under subsection (7) notice of such discharge and such further particulars relating to it as may reasonably be required.

(9)

F28Scottish WaterF21 shall take all necessary steps to secure that any water discharge by F29it under the provisions of this section shall be as free as reasonably practicable from mud and silt, from solid, polluting offensive or injurious matter and from any matter prejudicial to fish or spawn or to spawning beds or food of fish.

(10)

A power conferred by this section shall not be exercised so as to damage or injuriously affect any works or other property of a railway company or navigation authority or so as to flood or damage any F30public road.

(11)

In the exercise of the powers conferred by this section F31Scottish WaterF21shall do as little damage as possible and shall pay compensation to all persons for any damage sustained by them or liability to which they may become subject by reason of the exercise of those powers; and for the purposes of this subsection any extra expenditure which it becomes reasonably necessary for any public authority to incur for the purpose of properly discharging their statutory functions shall be deemed to be damage sustained by them.

(12)

Any question as to the amount of the compensation to be paid under subsection (11) shall in case of dispute be determined by arbitration.