Water Act 1989

CHAPTER II WATER SUPPLY

General duties of water undertakers

37 General duty with respect to water supply

(1) It shall be the duty of every water undertaker to develop and maintain an efficient and economical system of water supply within its area and to ensure that all such arrangements have been made—

(a) for providing supplies of water to premises in that area and for making such supplies available to persons who demand them; and

(b) for maintaining, improving and extending the water undertaker’s water mains and other pipes,

as are necessary for securing that the undertaker is and continues to be able to meet its obligations under this Chapter.

(2) The duty of water undertaker under this section shall be enforceable under section 20 above by the Secretary of State or, with the consent of or in accordance with a general authorisation given by the Secretary of State, by the Director.

38 Standards of performance in connection with water supply

(1) For the purpose—

(a) of facilitating the determination of the extent to which breaches of the obligations imposed by the following provisions of this Chapter are to amount to breaches of the duty imposed by section 37 above; or

(b) of supplementing that duty by establishing overall standards of performance in relation to that duty,

the Secretary of State may by regulations provide for contraventions of such requirements as may be prescribed to be treated for the purposes of this Act as breaches of that duty.

(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations prescribe such standards of performance in connection with the provision of supplies of water as, in his opinion, ought to be achieved in individual cases; and such regulations may provide that if a water undertaker fails to meet a prescribed standard it shall pay such amount as may be prescribed to any person who is affected by the failure and is of a prescribed description.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by subsection (2) above, regulations under that subsection may—

(a) include in a standard of performance a requirement for a water undertaker, in prescribed circumstances, to inform a person of his rights by virtue of any such regulations;

(b) provide for any dispute under the regulations to be referred by either party to the dispute to the Director;

(c) make provision for the procedure to be followed in connection with any such reference and for the Director’s determination on such a reference to be enforceable in such manner as may be prescribed;

(d) prescribe circumstances in which a water undertaker is to be exempted from requirements of the regulations.

(4) Subject to subsection (5) below, the Secretary of State shall not make any regulations under subsection (1) or (2) above unless—

(a) the Director has made a written application to the Secretary of State which—

(i) sets out draft provisions proposed by the Director for inclusion in such regulations;

(ii) specifies the water undertaker or undertakers in relation to which it is proposed those provisions should apply; and

(iii) summaries the Director’s reasons for his proposals;

(b) the Secretary of State is satisfied that a copy of the application has been served by the Director on every water undertaker specified in the application;

(c) the regulations contain only the provisions proposed by the Director or those provisions with such modifications as the Secretary of State considers appropriate;

(d) the only modifications of the Director’s proposals to which effect is given by the regulations are modifications the proposal to make which has been notified to the Director and to any water undertaker appearing to the Secretary of State to be likely to be affected by the modifications;

(e) such period as the Secretary of State considers appropriate has been allocated for the making by the Director and by any affected water undertaker of representations or objections with respect to the Director’s proposals and any modifications proposed by the Secretary of State; and

(f) the Secretary of State has considered both the Director’s reasons for his proposals and every representation or objection which has been duly made with respect to those proposals, or any proposed modifications of those proposals, and has not been withdrawn.

(5) Subsection (4) above shall not apply in relation to any regulations made under subsection (2) above before the transfer date.

(6) The obligations imposed on a water undertaker by the following provisions of this Chapter and the remedies available in respect of contraventions of those obligations shall be in addition to any duty imposed or remedy available by virtue of any provision of this section or section 37 above and shall not be in any way qualified by any such provision.

Bulk supplies of water

39 Bulk supply between water undertakers

(1) Where, on the application of a water undertaker—

(a) it appears to the Director that it is necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Chapter that another water undertaker should give a supply of water in bulk to the applicant; and

(b) he is satisfied that the giving and taking of such a supply cannot be secured by agreement,

the Director may by order require the undertakers to give and to take such a supply for such period and on such terms and conditions as may be provided in the order.

(2) An order under this section shall have effect as an agreement between the water undertakers in question but may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order made by the Director on the application of either of those undertakers, as well as by agreement between the undertakers.

(3) The Director shall not make an order under this section which he considers affects the carrying out by the Authority of any of its functions unless he has first consulted the Authority.

(4) In determining what provision to make by an order under this section in respect of the giving of any supply by a water undertaker the Director shall have regard to the desirability of the undertaker’s recovering the expenses of complying with its obligations under this section and of securing a reasonable return on its capital.

Duties to provide supplies etc.

40 Requisitioning of water mains

(1) It shall be the duty of a water undertaker to provide a water main to be used for providing such supplies of water to premises in a particular locality in its area as (so far as those premises are concerned) are sufficient for domestic purposes, if—

(a) the undertaker is required to provide the main by a notice served on the undertaker by one or more of the persons who under subsection (2) below are entitled to require the provision of the main for that locality;

(b) the premises in that locality to which those supplies would be provided by means of that main are—

(i) premises consisting in buildings or parts of buildings; or

(ii) premises which will so consist when proposals made by any person for the erection of buildings or parts of buildings are carried out;

and

(c) the conditions specified in section 41 below are satisfied in relation to that requirement.

(2) Each of the following persons shall be entitled to require the provision of a water main for any locality, that is to say—

(a) the owner of any premises in that locality;

(b) the occupier of any premises in that locality;

(c) any local authority within whose area the whole or any part of that locality is situated;

(d) where the whole or any part of that locality is situated in a new town, within the meaning of the [1981 c. 64.] New Towns Act 1981—

(i) the Commission for the New Towns; and

(ii) the Development Board for Rural Wales or the development corporation for the new town, according to whether or not the new town is situated within the area for which that Board is for the time being responsible;

and

(e) where the whole or any part of that locality is situated within an area designated as an urban development area under Part XVI of the [1980 c. 65.] Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980, the urban development corporation.

(3) A water undertaker shall not be in breach of a duty imposed by this section in relation to any locality unless—

(a) the period of three months beginning with the relevant day has expired; and

(b) the water undertaker has not, before the end of that period, so laid the water main to be provided as to enable service pipes to premises in that locality to connect with the main at the places determined under subsection (4) below;

and for the purposes of this subsection the period mentioned in paragraph (a) above may be extended by agreement between the undertaker and the person or persons who required the provision of the water main or, where there is a dispute as to whether the period should be extended, by an arbitrator on a reference under subsection (5) below.

(4) The places mentioned in subsection (3)(b) above shall be determined by agreement between the water undertaker and the person or persons who required the provision of the water main or, in default of agreement, shall be such places as are determined by an arbitrator, on a reference under subsection (5) below, to be the places at which it is reasonable, in all the circumstances, for service pipes to premises in the locality in question to connect with the water main.

(5) A reference for the purposes of subsection (3) or (4) above shall be to a single arbitrator appointed by agreement between the undertaker and the person or persons who required the provision of the water main or, in default of agreement, by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

(6) The duty of a water undertaker under this section to provide a water main shall be owed to the person who requires the provision of the main or, as the case may be, to each of the persons who joins in doing so; and any breach by a water undertaker of any such duty which causes any person to whom the duty is owed to sustain loss or damage shall be actionable at the suit of that person.

(7) In any proceedings brought against a water undertaker in pursuance of subsection (6) above in respect of a breach of duty which has caused any person to sustain loss or damage it shall be a defence for the undertaker to show that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the breach.

(8) In this section—

• “local authority”, in relation to the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple, includes, respectively, the Sub-Treasurer of the Inner Temple and the Under-Treasurer of the Middle Temple;

• “relevant day”, in relation to a requirement to provide a water main for any locality, means the day after whichever is the later of the following, that is to say—

  (a)

  the day on which the conditions specified in section 41 below are satisfied in relation to the requirement; and

  (b)

  the day on which the places where service pipes to premises in that locality will connect with the main are determined under subsection (4) above.

41 Financial conditions for water main requisition

(1) The conditions mentioned in section 40(1)(c) above are satisfied in relation to a requirement for the provision of a water main by a water undertaker if—

(a) such undertakings as the undertaker may have reasonably required in accordance with subsection (2) below have been given by the person or persons who have required the provision of the main; and

(b) such security as the undertaker may have reasonably required has been provided for the discharge of any obligations imposed by those undertakings on any person who—

(i) by virtue of section 40(2)(a) or (b) above required, or joined in requiring, the provision of the main; and

(ii) is not a public authority.

(2) The undertakings which a water undertaker may require for the purposes of subsection (1) above in respect of any water main are undertakings which bind the person or persons mentioned in that subsection (in the case of two or more persons, either jointly and severally or with liability to pay apportioned in such manner as those persons may agree) to pay to the undertaker, in respect of each of the twelve years following the provision of the main, an amount not exceeding the relevant deficit (if any) for that year on that main.

(3) For the purposes of this section the relevant deficit for any year on a water main is the amount (if any) by which the water charges payable for the use during that year of that main are exceeded by the annual borrowing costs of a loan of the amount required for the provision of that main.

(4) The annual borrowing costs of a loan of the amount required for the provision of a water main is the aggregate amount which would fall to be paid in any year by way of payments of interest and repayments of capital if an amount equal to so much of the costs reasonably incurred in providing that main as were not incurred in the provision of additional capacity had been borrowed, by the water undertaker providing the main, on terms—

(a) requiring interest to be paid and capital to be repaid in twelve equal annual instalments; and

(b) providing for the amount of the interest to be calculated at such rate, and in accordance with such other provision, as may have been determined either by the undertaker with the approval of the Director or, in default of such a determination, by the Director.

(5) The costs reasonably incurred in providing a water main (“the new main”) shall include—

(a) the costs reasonably incurred in providing such other water mains and such tanks, service reservoirs and pumping stations as it is necessary to provide in consequence of the provision of the new main; and

(b) such proportion (if any) as is reasonable of the costs reasonably incurred in providing any such additional capacity in an earlier water main as falls to be used in consequence of the provision of the new main;

and in this subsection “earlier water main”, in relation to the new main, means any water main which has been provided in the period of twelve years immediately before the provision of the new main and was so provided in pursuance of a requirement under section 40 above, under the provisions of section 36 or 37 of the 1945 Act or of section 29 of Schedule 3 to that Act (water main requisitions) or under any local statutory provision corresponding to section 40 above or to any of those provisions of the 1945 Act.

(6) Any reference in this section to the provision of additional capacity in a water main provided in pursuance of a requirement under any enactment is a reference to such works carried out or other things done in connection with the provision of that main as are carried out or done for the purpose of enabling that main to be used for purposes in addition to those for which it is necessary to provide the main in order to comply with the requirement.

(7) For the purposes of this section references to the water charges payable for the use during any year of any main provided by a water undertaker are references to so much of the aggregate of any charges payable to the water undertaker in respect of services provided in the course of that year as represents charges which—

(a) have been imposed by the undertaker in relation to premises which are connected with that main; and

(b) are reasonably attributable to the provision of a supply of water (whether or not for domestic purposes) to those premises by means of that main.

(8) Where for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) above any sums have been deposited with a water undertaker by way of security for the discharge of any obligation, the undertaker shall pay interest at such rate as may be determined either—

(a) by the undertaker with the approval of the Director; or

(b) in default of a determination under paragraph (a) above, by the Director,

on every sum of 50p so deposited for every three months during which it remains in the hands of the undertaker.

(9) An approval or determination given or made by the Director for the purposes of subsection (4) or (8) above—

(a) may be given or made in relation to the provision of a particular water main, in relation to the provision of mains of a particular description or in relation to the provision of water mains generally; and

(b) may be revoked at any time except, in the case of an approval or determination for the purposes of subsection (4) above, in relation to a water main that has already been provided.

(10) Any dispute between a water undertaker and any other person as to—

(a) the undertakings or security required by the undertaker for the purposes of this section; or

(b) the amount required to be paid in pursuance of any such undertaking,

shall be referred to the arbitration of a single arbitrator appointed by agreement between the undertaker and that person or, in default of agreement, by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

42 Duty to make connections to water mains

(1) This section applies where the owner or occupier of any premises which are situated in the area of a water undertaker and are premises which consist in the whole or any part of a building or premises on which any person is proposing to erect any building or part of a building serves a notice on the undertaker which—

(a) requires the undertaker, for the purpose of providing a supply of water for domestic purposes to that building or part, to connect a service pipe to those premises with one of the undertaker’s water mains; and

(b) is accompanied or supplemented by all such information as the undertaker may reasonably require and, if it has effect so that a requirement is imposed on the undertaker by virtue of subsection (3)(c) below, sets out the matters that have given rise to the imposition of that requirement;

and this section applies where a notice has been served for the purposes of this section whether or not the service pipe to which the notice relates has been laid when the notice is served.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section and to section 44 below, it shall be the duty of a water undertaker on whom a notice is served for the purposes of this section, at the expense of the person serving the notice, to make the required connection if—

(a) the main with which the service pipe is required to be connected is neither a trunk main nor a water main which is or is to be used solely for the purpose of supplying water otherwise than for domestic purposes; and

(b) such conditions as the undertaker may have imposed under section 43 below have been satisfied.

(3) Where a water undertaker is required to make a connection under subsection (2) above, it shall be the duty of the undertaker, at the expense of the person serving the notice, to carry out such of the following works as need to be carried out before the connection in question can be made, that is to say—

(a) to lay so much of the service pipe as it is necessary, for the purpose of making a connection with the main, to lay in a street;

(b) in a case where—

(i) the water main in question is situated in a street;

(ii) the premises consisting in the building or part of a building in question together with any land occupied with it abut on the part of the street where the main is situated; and

(iii) the service pipe to those premises will enter the premises otherwise than through an outer wall of a building abutting on the street and will have a stopcock fitted by the undertaker in the premises,

to lay so much of the service pipe as it is necessary for that purpose to lay in land between the boundary of the street and that stopcock;

(c) in a case where the notice for the purposes of this section is served in compliance with a requirement imposed by a notice served by a local authority under section 57 below, to lay so much of the service pipe as it is necessary for that purpose to lay in land owned or occupied by a person who is certified by that authority—

(i) to have unreasonably refused his consent to the laying of the service pipe; or

(ii) to have sought to make the giving of his consent subject to unreasonable conditions;

and it shall be the duty of any water undertaker making a connection under this section to ensure that a stopcock belonging to the undertaker is fitted to the service pipe which is connected.

(4) Where a water main is alongside a street and within eighteen metres of the middle of that street, subsection (3) above shall have effect in relation to the laying, for the purpose of making a connection with that main, of a service pipe to any premises as if the street included so much of the land between the main and the boundary of the street as is not comprised in those premises or in any land occupied with those premises.

(5) Subject to section 44(6) below, a water undertaker may comply with any duty under this section to lay a service pipe by laying a water main instead; but nothing in this section shall impose any duty on a water undertaker—

(a) to lay a water main where it has no power to lay a service pipe; or

(b) to connect a service pipe to any premises with a service pipe to other premises.

(6) Where a notice under this section is served in respect of any premises before the laying of so much of the service pipe to those premises as falls to be laid otherwise than by the water undertaker under subsection (3) above, the duties of the undertaker under this section shall not arise by virtue of that notice until the person serving the notice, having obtained the necessary consents from the owners and occupiers of any affected land, has, at his own expense, laid so much of the service pipe as it is necessary, for the purpose of making the connection, to lay otherwise than in a street or in land mentioned in subsection (3)(b) or (c) or (4) above.

43 Conditions of connection to water main

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section and without prejudice to the provisions of sections 233 and 372 of the [1986 c. 45.] Insolvency Act 1986 (conditions of supply after insolvency), where the owner or occupier of any premises serves a notice on a water undertaker under section 42 above, the undertaker may make any one or more of the following a condition of complying with the duties to which it is subject by virtue of that notice, that is to say—

(a) that such security as the undertaker may reasonably require has been provided for the discharge of any obligations imposed by virtue of section 44(5) below on the person serving the notice;

(b) in a case where the connection required by the notice is necessary as a consequence of a disconnection made by reason of any person’s failure to pay any charges, that the person serving the notice has paid any amount owed by him to the undertaker in respect of a supply of water to those premises or in respect of expenses incurred in the making of the disconnection;

(c) that a meter for use in determining the amount of any charges which have been or may be fixed in relation to those premises by reference to volume has been installed and connected either by the undertaker or in accordance with specifications approved by the undertaker;

(d) that so much of the service pipe to the premises as does not belong to, or fall to be laid by, the undertaker and the plumbing of the premises comply with specifications approved by the undertaker for the purpose of ensuring that it will be reasonably practicable for such a meter to be so installed and connected;

(e) that a separate service pipe has been provided to each house or building on the premises or, where different parts of a building on the premises are separately occupied, to each of those parts or to any of them;

(f) that such a requirement as may be imposed under subsection (5) of section 51 below has been complied with or, in a case where such a requirement could be imposed but for there already being such a cistern as is mentioned in that subsection, that the cistern and its float-operated valve are in good repair;

(g) that there is no contravention in relation to the water fittings used or to be used in connection with the supply of water to those premises, or with the use of water in those premises, of such of the requirements of regulations under section 62 below as are prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph; and

(h) that every such step has been taken as has been specified in any notice served under section 63 below in relation to those premises on any person.

(2) A condition shall not be imposed by an undertaker under this section on a person who has served a notice under section 42 above except by a counter-notice served on that person before the end of the period of fourteen days beginning with the day after the service of the notice under that section.

(3) Where for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) above any sums have been deposited with a water undertaker by way of security for the discharge of any obligation, the undertaker shall pay interest at such rate as may be determined either—

(a) by the undertaker with the approval of the Director; or

(b) in default of a determination under paragraph (a) above, by the Director,

on every sum of 50p so deposited for every three months during which it remains in the hands of the undertaker; and an approval or determination by the Director for the purposes of this subsection may be given or made in relation to a particular case or description of cases or generally and may be revoked at any time.

(4) The power conferred on a water undertaker by virtue of paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1) above shall be exercisable in relation to any premises even if the undertaker has no immediate intention, when the power is exercised, of fixing charges in relation to those premises by reference to volume, but shall not be exercisable so as to require the alteration or removal of any pipe laid or plumbing installed before 1st April 1989.

(5) Specifications approved by any water undertaker for the purposes of either of the said paragraphs (c) and (d) may be approved in relation to particular premises or, by being published in such manner as the undertaker considers appropriate, in relation to premises generally or to any description of premises.

(6) Any dispute between a water undertaker and any other person as to the terms of any condition imposed by virtue of either of the said paragraphs (c) and (d) shall be referred to the arbitration of a single arbitrator appointed by agreement between the undertaker and that person or, in default of agreement, by the Secretary of State.

(7) Where the effect of a notice served on a water undertaker under section 42 above in respect of any house is to require a service pipe to that house to be connected with a water main with which it has previously been connected, the undertaker shall not be entitled to make the reconnection subject to any such condition as is mentioned in paragraph (e) of subsection (1) above unless the undertaker would have been entitled under section 50 below to require the provision of a separate service pipe if the reconnection had already been made.

(8) In this section “meter” means any apparatus for measuring or showing the volume of water supplied to, or of effluent discharged from, any premises; and any reference in this section to the fixing of charges in relation to any premises by reference to volume is a reference to the fixing of those charges by reference to the volume of water supplied to those premises, to the volume of effluent discharged from those premises, to both of those factors or to one or both of those factors taken together with other factors.

44 Enforcement of obligations under section 42

(1) Any duty imposed on a water undertaker by virtue of a notice under section 42 above shall be owed to the person who served the notice; and any breach by a water undertaker of any such duty which causes the person to whom the duty is owed to sustain loss or damage shall be actionable at the suit of that person.

(2) A water undertaker shall not be in breach of a duty imposed by virtue of a notice under section 42 above unless—

(a) in the case of a duty to lay any service pipe or to connect any service pipe to which such a duty relates, it has failed to lay that pipe or to make that connection as soon as reasonably practicable after the relevant day;

(b) in the case of a duty to connect a service pipe the whole of which has already been laid when the notice is served on the undertaker, it has failed to make the connection before the end of the period of fourteen days beginning with the relevant day.

(3) In any case in which a water undertaker is subject to any such duty as is mentioned in subsection (2)(a) above, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is shown in relation to that case, that the period of twenty-one days beginning with the relevant day is the period within which it is reasonably practicable for a water undertaker—

(a) to lay so much of any service pipe; and

(b) to fit such stopcock,

as it is necessary to lay or fit in that case for connecting a water main in a street with a service pipe at the boundary of any premises which abut on the part of the street where the main is situated.

(4) In any proceedings brought against a water undertaker in pursuance of subsection (1) above in respect of a breach of duty which has caused any person to sustain loss or damage it shall be a defence for the undertaker to show that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the breach.

(5) Where a water undertaker carries out any works which it is its duty to carry out under section 42 above at the expense of a person who has served a notice on the undertaker, the undertaker shall be entitled to recover from that person an amount equal to the expenses reasonably incurred by the undertaker in carrying out the works.

(6) Where a water undertaker exercises its power under section 42(5) above to lay a water main instead of a service pipe—

(a) paragraph (a) of subsection (2) above shall have effect as if any additional time reasonably required by reason of the laying of the main instead of the service pipe were included in the time allowed by that paragraph for the laying of the service pipe; but

(b) the expenses recoverable by virtue of subsection (5) above shall not exceed such amount as it would have been reasonable for the undertaker to have incurred in laying a service pipe instead of the main.

(7) In this section “the relevant day”, in relation to a duty imposed on a water undertaker by virtue of a notice under section 42 above, means the day after whichever is the latest of the following days, that is to say—

(a) the day on which the notice was served on the undertaker;

(b) in a case where it is necessary for the person serving the notice to lay any service pipe after serving the notice, the day on which a notice stating that the pipe has been laid is served on the undertaker;

(c) the day on which all such conditions are satisfied as the undertaker has, under section 43 above, made conditions of its compliance with that duty.

45 Duty to supply water for domestic purposes

(1) This section applies to any premises which consist in the whole or any part of a building and which are connected by means of a service pipe to a water main if—

(a) that pipe was first connected with that main in pursuance of a notice served under section 42 above in respect of those premises;

(b) that pipe was the means by which a supply of water from that main was being supplied to those premises for domestic purposes immediately before the transfer date;

(c) the condition specified in paragraph (b) above would be satisfied in relation to the premises if any service pipe to those premises had not been temporarily disconnected for the purposes of any necessary works which were being carried out immediately before the transfer date; or

(d) the condition specified in any of the preceding paragraphs—

(i) has been satisfied in relation to those premises at any time on or after the transfer date; and

(ii) would continue to be satisfied in relation to those premises had not the whole or any part of a service pipe to those premises, or the main with which such a pipe had been connected, been renewed (on one or more previous occasions).

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a water undertaker shall owe a domestic supply duty in relation to any premises to which this section applies and which are situated in the area of the undertaker if—

(a) a demand for a supply of water for domestic purposes has been made to the undertaker in respect of those premises—

(i) by the person who was the occupier of the premises at the time when the demand was made; or

(ii) by any person who was the owner of the premises at that time and agreed with the undertaker to pay all the undertaker’s charges in respect of the supply demanded;

or

(b) those premises are premises to which this section applies by reason of a supply of water provided before the transfer date,

and there has been no interruption of the domestic supply duty in relation to those premises since that demand was made or, as the case may be, since the beginning of the transfer date.

(3) Where a water undertaker owes a domestic supply duty in relation to any premises, it shall be the duty of that undertaker, until there is an interruption of that duty—

(a) to provide to those premises such a supply of water as (so far as those premises are concerned) is sufficient for domestic purposes; and

(b) to maintain the connection between the undertaker’s water main and the service pipe by which that supply is provided to those premises.

(4) For the purposes of this section—

(a) there is an interruption of the domestic supply duty owed by a water undertaker in relation to any premises if that supply is cut off by anything done by the undertaker in exercise of any power conferred on the undertaker by section 49 or 63 below, other than a disconnection or cutting off for the purposes of the carrying out of any necessary works; and

(b) a domestic supply duty owed in relation to any premises shall not be treated for the purposes of this section as interrupted by reason only of a change of the occupier or owner of the premises.

(5) Nothing in this section shall impose any duty on a water undertaker—

(a) to provide a supply of water directly from, or maintain any connection with, a water main which is a trunk main or is or is to be used solely for the purpose of supplying water otherwise than for domestic purposes; or

(b) to provide a supply of water to any premises, or maintain the connection between a water main and a service pipe to any premises, during any period during which it is reasonable for the supply of water to those premises to be cut off or reduced, or for the pipe to be disconnected, for the purposes of the carrying out of any necessary works.

(6) Without prejudice to the provisions of sections 233 and 372 of the [1986 c. 45.] Insolvency Act 1986 (conditions of supply after insolvency), where a demand for the purposes of subsection (2) above has been made to a water undertaker in respect of any premises, the undertaker may make any one or more of the following a condition of providing his first supply of water in compliance with that demand, that is to say—

(a) in a case where the demand is made as a consequence of a supply having been cut off by reason of any person’s failure to pay any charges, that the person serving the notice has paid any amount owed by him to the undertaker in respect of a supply of water to those premises or in respect of expenses incurred in cutting off any such supply;

(b) that such a requirement as may be imposed under subsection (5) of section 51 below has been complied with or, in a case where such a requirement could be imposed but for there already being such a cistern as is mentioned in that subsection, that the cistern and its float-operated valve are in good repair;

(c) that there is no contravention in relation to the water fittings used or to be used in connection with the supply of water to those premises, or with the use of water in those premises, of such of the requirements of regulations under section 62 below as are prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph; and

(d) that every such step has been taken as has been specified in any notice served under section 63 below in relation to those premises on any person.

(7) Any duty imposed on a water undertaker under this section to provide a supply of water to any premises, or to maintain a connection between a water main and a service pipe by which such a supply is provided, shall be owed to the consumer; and any breach by a water undertaker of any duty imposed by this section which causes any person to whom the duty is owed to sustain loss or damage shall be actionable at the suit of that person.

(8) In any proceedings brought against a water undertaker in pursuance of subsection (7) above in respect of a breach of duty which has caused any person to sustain loss or damage it shall be a defence for the undertaker to show that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the breach.

46 Supply of water for non-domestic purposes

(1) This section applies where the owner or occupier of any premises in the area of a water undertaker requests the undertaker to provide a supply of water to those premises and—

(a) the premises are premises which do not consist in the whole or any part of a building; or

(b) the requested supply is for purposes other than domestic purposes.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section and to sections 49 and 63 below, where this section applies, it shall be the duty of the undertaker, in accordance with such terms and conditions as may be determined under this section—

(a) to take any such steps as may be so determined in order to enable the undertaker to provide the requested supply; and

(b) having taken any such steps, to provide that supply.

(3) A water undertaker shall not be required by virtue of this section to provide a new supply to any premises, or to take any steps to enable it to provide such a supply, if—

(a) the provision of that supply or the taking of those steps would—

(i) require the undertaker, in order to meet all its existing obligations to supply water for domestic or other purposes, together with its probable future obligations to supply buildings and parts of buildings with water for domestic purposes, to incur unreasonable expenditure in carrying out works; or

(ii) otherwise put at risk the ability of the undertaker to meet any of the existing or probable future obligations mentioned in sub-paragraph (i) above;

or

(b) there is a contravention in relation to the water fittings used or to be used in connection with the supply of water to those premises, or with the use of water in those premises, of such of the requirements of regulations under section 62 below as are prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph.

(4) Subject to subsection (5) below and without prejudice to the provisions of sections 233 and 372 of the [1986 c. 45.] Insolvency Act 1986 (conditions of supply after insolvency), any terms or conditions or other matter which falls to be determined for the purposes of a request made by any person to a water undertaker under subsection (2) above shall be determined by agreement between that person and the water undertaker or, in default of agreement, shall be determined by the Director according to what appears to him to be reasonable; and the Director shall also determine any dispute arising between such a person and a water undertaker by virtue of subsection (3) above.

(5) The Director may, instead of himself making a determination under subsection (4) above, refer any matter submitted to him for determination under that subsection to the arbitration of such person as he may appoint.

(6) For the purposes of any determination under this section by the Director or any person appointed by him—

(a) it shall be for a water undertaker to show that it should not be required to comply with a request for the purposes of subsection (2) above;

(b) the charges in respect of a supply provided in compliance with such a request shall not be determined by the Director or such a person except in so far as at the time of the request no provision is in force by virtue of a scheme under section 76 below in respect of supplies of the applicable description; and

(c) in so far as charges in respect of such a supply do fall to be determined they shall be determined having regard to the desirability of the undertaker’s recovering the expenses of complying with its obligations under this section and of securing a reasonable return on its capital;

and, to the extent that paragraph (b) above excludes any charges from a determination under this section, those charges shall be fixed from time to time by a scheme under the said section 76 but not otherwise.

(7) Where—

(a) a request has been made by any person to a water undertaker for the purposes of subsection (2) above; and

(b) the steps which the undertaker is required to take by virtue of that request include steps for the purpose of obtaining any necessary authority for or agreement to any exercise by the undertaker of any of its powers or to the carrying out by the undertaker of any works,

the failure of the undertaker to acquire the necessary authority or agreement shall not affect any liability of that person, under any term or condition in accordance with which those steps are taken, to re-imburse the undertaker in respect of some or all of the expenses incurred by the undertaker in taking those steps.

(8) Nothing in this section shall impose any duty on a water undertaker to provide a supply of water to any premises during any period during which it is reasonable for the supply of water to those premises to be cut off or reduced for the purposes of the carrying out of any necessary works.

(9) The duty of a water undertaker to supply water under this section at the request of any person and any terms and conditions determined under this section in default of agreement between the undertaker and that person shall have effect as if contained in such an agreement.

47 Duty to provide a supply of water etc. for fire-fighting

(1) It shall be the duty of a water undertaker to allow any person to take water for extinguishing fires from any of its water mains or other pipes on which a fire-hydrant is fixed.

(2) Every water undertaker shall, at the request of the fire authority concerned, fix fire-hydrants on its water mains (other than its trunk mains) at such places as may be most convenient for affording a supply of water for extinguishing any fire which may break out within the area of the undertaker.

(3) A water undertaker shall, at the request of the owner or occupier of any factory or place of business, fix a fire-hydrant, to be used for extinguishing fires and not other purposes, at such place on any suitable water main or other pipe of the undertaker as is as near as conveniently possible to that factory or place of business.

(4) It shall be the duty of every water undertaker to keep every fire-hydrant fixed on any of its water mains or other pipes in good working order and, for that purpose, to replace any such hydrant when necessary.

(5) It shall be the duty of a water undertaker to ensure that a fire authority has been supplied by the undertaker with all such keys as the authority may require for the fire-hydrants fixed on the water mains or other pipes of the undertaker.

(6) The expenses incurred by a water undertaker in complying with its obligations under subsections (2) to (5) above shall be borne—

(a) in the case of a hydrant fixed in pursuance of a request made (whether before or after the transfer date) by the owner or occupier of a factory or place of business, by the owner or occupier for the time being of that factory or place, according to whether the person who made the original request did so in his capacity as owner or occupier; and

(b) in any other case, by the fire authority concerned.

(7) Nothing in this section shall require a water undertaker to do anything which it is unable to do by reason of the carrying out of any necessary works.

(8) The obligations of a water undertaker under this section shall be enforceable under section 20 above by the Secretary of State; and, in addition, where a water undertaker is in breach of a duty under this section the undertaker shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(9) In any proceedings against any water undertaker for an offence under subsection (8) above it shall be a defence for that undertaker to show that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.

(10) For the purposes of subsection (3) above a water main or other pipe is suitable, in relation to a factory or place of business, if—

(a) it is situated in a street which is in or near to that factory or place of business; and

(b) it is of sufficient dimensions to carry a hydrant and is not a trunk main.

(11) In this section—

• “factory” has the same meaning as in the [1961 c. 34.] Factories Act 1961; and

• “fire authority” has the same meaning as in the [1947 c. 41.] Fire Services Act 1947.

48 Duty to supply water for other public purposes

(1) A water undertaker shall, at the request of a sewerage undertaker, highway authority or local authority, provide, from such of its pipes as are of an appropriate capacity, a supply of water for cleansing sewers and drains, for cleansing and watering highways or, as the case may be, for supplying any public pumps, baths or wash-houses.

(2) A supply of water provided by a water undertaker under this section shall be provided upon such terms and conditions as may be reasonable.

(3) A water main or other pipe of a water undertaker shall be treated as of an appropriate capacity for the purposes of this section if and only if it has a fire-hydrant fixed on it.

(4) Nothing in this section shall require a water undertaker to do anything which it is unable to do by reason of the carrying out of any necessary works.

(5) The obligations of a water undertaker under this section shall be enforceable under section 20 above by the Director.

49 Powers to disconnect service pipes and cut off supplies

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section and, in the case of a supply provided under section 46 above, to any terms or conditions determined under that section, a water undertaker may disconnect a service pipe which for the purposes of providing a supply of water to any premises is connected with any water main of that undertaker, or may otherwise cut off a supply of water to any premises, if—

(a) it is reasonable for the disconnection to be made, or the supply to be cut off, for the purposes of the carrying out of any necessary works;

(b) the occupier of the premises—

(i) is liable (whether in his capacity as occupier or under any agreement with the undertaker) to pay charges due to the undertaker in respect of the supply of water to those premises; and

(ii) has failed to do so before the end of the period of seven days beginning with the day after he is served with notice requiring him to do so;

or

(c) notice specifying the time after which a supply of water to those premises will no longer be required has been served on the undertaker by a consumer and that time has passed.

(2) The power of a water undertaker by virtue of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) above to cut off a supply of water shall include power to reduce a supply of water; and, except in an emergency or in the case of a reduction which is immaterial, the power of a water undertaker by virtue of that paragraph to cut off or reduce a supply shall be exercisable in relation to any premises only after the undertaker has served reasonable notice on the consumer of the proposal for the carrying out of the necessary works.

(3) Where a water undertaker exercises its power by virtue of the said paragraph (a) to make any disconnection or to cut off or reduce a supply of water to any premises for the purposes of the carrying out of any necessary works, it shall owe a duty to the consumer to secure—

(a) that those works are carried out with reasonable dispatch; and

(b) that any supply of water to those premises for domestic purposes is interrupted for more than twenty-four hours for the purposes of the carrying out of those works only if an emergency supply has been made available (whether or not in pipes) within a reasonable distance of those premises;

and any breach by a water undertaker of that duty which causes any person to whom it is owed to sustain loss or damage shall be actionable at the suit of that person.

(4) Where a water undertaker has served a notice for the purposes of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above on a person who, within the period of seven days mentioned in that paragraph, serves a notice on the undertaker stating that he disputes his liability to pay the charges in question, the undertaker shall not exercise his power by virtue of that paragraph in relation to any premises except at a time when that person is the occupier of the premises and—

(a) the undertaker is able to enforce a judgment against that person for the payment of the charges in question; or

(b) that person is in breach of an agreement entered into, since the service of his notice, for the purpose of avoiding or settling proceedings by the undertaker for the recovery of those charges.

(5) A water undertaker which exercises its power by virtue of the said paragraph (b) to disconnect any pipe or otherwise to cut off any supply of water may recover, from the person in respect of whose liability the power is exercised, any expenses reasonably incurred by the undertaker in making the disconnection or in otherwise cutting off the supply.

(6) Where—

(a) a water undertaker has power by virtue of the said paragraph (b) to disconnect any pipe to any premises, or otherwise to cut off any supply to any premises; and

(b) a supply of water is provided to those premises and to other premises wholly or partly by the same service pipe,

the undertaker may exercise that power so as to cut off the supply to those other premises if and only if the same person is the occupier of the premises in relation to which the charges are due and of the other premises.

(7) No person shall be liable to a water undertaker for any expenses incurred by the undertaker in exercising the power conferred on the undertaker by virtue of paragraph (c) of subsection (1) above.

(8) Where a water undertaker disconnects a service pipe to any inhabited house, or otherwise cuts off a supply of water to such a house, without restoring that supply before the end of the period of twenty-four hours beginning with the time when it is cut off, the undertaker shall, no later than forty-eight hours after that time, serve notice that it has cut off that supply on the local authority in whose area the house is situated.

(9) A water undertaker which —

(a) disconnects a service pipe to any premises, or otherwise cuts off a supply of water to any premises, in a case in which it has no power to do so under this section, section 63 below or any other enactment;

(b) in disconnecting any such pipe or cutting off any such supply fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any requirement of this section, that section or, as the case may be, the other enactment in pursuance of which it disconnects the pipe or cuts off the supply; or

(c) fails, without reasonable excuse, to serve a notice on a local authority as required by subsection (8) above,

shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

50 Power to require separate service pipes

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a water undertaker may require the provision of a separate service pipe to any premises within its area which—

(a) consist in a house or any other building or part of a building, being, in the case of a part of a building, a part which is separately occupied; and

(b) are already supplied with water by the undertaker but do not have a separate service pipe.

(2) Where the supply of water to two or more houses was provided to those houses before 15th April 1981 wholly or partly by the same service pipe and continues to be so provided, the water undertaker shall not require the provision of separate service pipes to those houses until—

(a) the service pipe, in so far as it belongs to a person other than the undertaker, becomes so defective as to require renewal or is no longer sufficient to meet the requirements of those houses;

(b) a payment in respect of the supply of water to any of those houses remains unpaid after the end of the period for which it is due;

(c) the houses are, by structural alterations to one or more of them, converted into a larger number of houses;

(d) the owner or occupier of any of those houses has interfered with, or allowed another person to interfere with, the existing service pipe and thereby caused the supply of water to any house to be interfered with; or

(e) the undertaker has reasonable grounds for believing that such interference as is mentioned in paragraph (d) above is likely to take place.

(3) If, in the case of any such premises as are described in subsection (1) above, the water undertaker which provides a supply of water to those premises serves notice on the consumer requiring the provision of a separate service pipe and setting out the power of the undertaker under subsection (4) below—

(a) that consumer shall, within three months after the service of the notice, lay so much of the required pipe as the undertaker is not under a duty to lay by virtue of paragraph (b) below;

(b) sections 42 to 44 above shall apply as if that consumer had, by a notice under the said section 42, required the undertaker to connect the separate service pipe to those premises with the undertaker’s water main;

(c) that consumer shall be presumed, without prejudice to his power to make further demands and requests—

(i) in so far as those premises were provided before the service of the notice with a supply of water for domestic purposes, to have made a demand for the purposes of section 45 above that such a supply is provided by means of the separate service pipe; and

(ii) in so far as those premises were provided before the service of the notice with a supply of water for other purposes, to have requested the undertaker to provide the same supply by means of that pipe as was provided before the service of the notice;

and

(d) on providing a supply of water to those premises by means of the separate service pipe, the undertaker may cut off any supply replaced by that supply and may make such disconnections of pipes by which the replaced supply was provided as it thinks fit.

(4) If a person upon whom a notice has been served for the purposes of subsection (3) above fails to comply with the notice, the water undertaker may itself carry out the works which that person was required to carry out and may recover the expenses reasonably incurred by the undertaker in doing so from that person.

(5) Without prejudice to the power of a water undertaker by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (3) above to impose conditions under section 43 above or to the power conferred by virtue of paragraph (d) of that subsection, any works carried out by a water undertaker by virtue of the provisions of the said paragraph (b) or of subsection (4) above shall be necessary works for the purposes of sections 45 to 49 above and section 51 below.

Constancy and pressure of water supplies

51 Duty as respects constant supply and pressure

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, it shall be the duty of a water undertaker to cause the water in such of its water mains and other pipes as—

(a) are used for providing supplies of water for domestic purposes; or

(b) have fire-hydrants fixed on them,

to be laid on constantly and at such a pressure as will cause the water to reach to the top of the top-most storey of every building within the undertaker’s area.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) above shall require a water undertaker to provide a supply of water at a height greater than that to which it will flow by gravitation through its water mains from the service reservoir or tank from which that supply is taken; and for the purposes of this section a water undertaker shall be entitled to choose the service reservoir or tank from which any supply is to be taken.

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) above shall impose any duty on a water undertaker to maintain the constancy or pressure of any supply of water during any period during which it is reasonable for that supply to be cut off or reduced for the purposes of the carrying out of any necessary works.

(4) The Secretary of State may by order modify the application of the preceding provisions of this section in relation to any water undertaker; but the Secretary of State shall not make such an order except—

(a) in accordance with Schedule 7 to this Act; and

(b) on an application made in accordance with that Schedule by the Director or by the water undertaker in relation to which the order is made.

(5) A water undertaker may—

(a) require that any premises consisting in—

(i) any building or part of a building the supply of water to which need not, in accordance with provision contained in or made under this Act, be constantly laid on under pressure; or

(ii) any relevant house to which water is required to be delivered at a height greater than 10.5 metres below the draw-off level of the service reservoir or tank from which a supply of water is being provided by the undertaker to those premises,

shall be provided with a cistern which has a float-operated valve and is fitted on the pipe by means of which water is supplied to those premises; and

(b) in the case of such a house as is mentioned in paragraph (a)(ii) above, require that the cistern shall be capable of holding sufficient water to provide an adequate supply to the house for a period of twenty-four hours.

(6) If, where a water undertaker provides a supply of water to any premises, the consumer, after having been required to do so by notice served on him by the undertaker, fails before the end of the period specified in the notice, being a period of not less than twenty-eight days beginning with the day after the service of the notice—

(a) to provide a cistern in accordance with a requirement under subsection (5) above; or

(b) to put any such cistern and its float-operated valve into good repair,

the water undertaker may itself provide a cistern, or execute any repairs necessary to prevent waste of water, and may recover the expenses reasonably incurred by it in doing so from the owner of the premises.

(7) The power of the Secretary of State to make an order under subsection (4) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament; and such an order may—

(a) require the payment of compensation by a water undertaker to persons affected by the order;

(b) make different provision for different cases, including different provision in relation to different persons, circumstances or localities; and

(c) contain such supplemental, consequential and transitional provision as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

(8) The obligations of a water undertaker under this section shall be enforceable under section 20 above by the Secretary of State; and, in addition, where a water undertaker is in breach of a duty under this section the undertaker shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(9) In any proceedings against any water undertaker for an offence under subsection (8) above it shall be a defence for that undertaker to show that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.

(10) In this section “relevant house” means—

(a) a house the erection of which is commenced on or after the transfer date; or

(b) a house in relation to which any such requirement as is mentioned in subsection (5) above could have been imposed under any enactment having effect immediately before the transfer date in relation to the person who was supplying water to that house immediately before that date.

Quality and sufficiency of water supplies

52 Duties of water undertakers with respect to water quality

(1) It shall be the duty of a water undertaker—

(a) when supplying water to any premises for domestic purposes to supply only water which is wholesome at the time of supply; and

(b) so far as reasonably practicable, to ensure, in relation to each source or combination of sources from which that undertaker supplies water to premises for domestic purposes, that there is, in general, no deterioration in the quality of the water which is supplied from time to time from that source or combination of sources.

(2) For the purposes of this section and section 53 below and subject to subsection (3) below, water supplied by a water undertaker to any premises shall not be regarded as unwholesome at the time of supply where it has ceased to be wholesome only after leaving the undertaker’s pipes.

(3) For the purposes of this section where water supplied by a water undertaker to any premises would not otherwise be regarded as unwholesome at the time of supply, that water shall be regarded as unwholesome at that time if—

(a) it has ceased to be wholesome after leaving the undertaker’s pipes but while in a pipe which is subject to water pressure from a water main or which would be so subject but for the closing of some valve; and

(b) it has so ceased in consequence of the failure of the undertaker, before supplying the water, to take such steps as may be prescribed for the purpose of securing the elimination, or reduction to a minimum, of any prescribed risk that the water would cease to be wholesome after leaving the undertaker’s pipes.

(4) The provisions of this section shall apply in relation to water which is supplied by a water undertaker whether or not the water is water which the undertaker is required to supply by virtue of any provision of this Act.

(5) The duties of a water undertaker under this section shall be enforceable under section 20 above by the Secretary of State.

53 Regulations for preserving water quality

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations require a water undertaker to take all such steps as may be prescribed for the purpose of securing compliance with section 52 above; and, without prejudice to the generality of that power, regulations under this subsection may impose an obligation on a water undertaker—

(a) to take all such steps as may be prescribed for monitoring and recording whether the water which that undertaker supplies to premises for domestic purposes is wholesome at the time of supply;

(b) to take all such steps as may be prescribed for monitoring and recording the quality of the water from any source, or combination of sources, which that undertaker uses or is proposing to use for supplying water to any premises for domestic purposes;

(c) to ensure that a source which that undertaker is using or proposing to use for supplying water for domestic purposes is not so used until prescribed requirements for establishing the quality of water which may be supplied from that source have been complied with;

(d) to keep records of the localities within which all the premises supplied with water for domestic purposes by that undertaker are normally supplied from the same source or combination of sources;

(e) to comply with prescribed requirements with respect to the analysis of water samples or with respect to internal reporting or organisational arrangements.

(2) Without prejudice to subsection (1) above, the Secretary of State may by regulations make provision with respect to the use by water undertakers, for the purposes of or in connection with the carrying out of their functions, of such processes and substances, and of products that contain or are made with such substances or materials, as he considers might affect the quality of any water; and, without prejudice to the generality of that power, regulations under this subsection may—

(a) forbid the use by water undertakers of processes, substances and products which have not been approved under the regulations or which contravene the regulations;

(b) for the purposes of provision made by virtue of paragraph (a) above, require processes, substances and products used by water undertakers to conform to such standards as may be prescribed by or approved under the regulations;

(c) impose such other requirements as may be prescribed with respect to the use by water undertakers of prescribed processes, substances and products;

(d) provide for the giving, refusal and revocation, by prescribed persons, of approvals required for the purposes of the regulations, for such approvals to be capable of being made subject to such conditions as may be prescribed and for the modification and revocation of any such condition;

(e) impose obligations to furnish prescribed persons with information reasonably required by those persons for the purpose of carrying out functions under the regulations;

(f) provide for a contravention of the regulations to constitute—

(i) a summary offence punishable, on summary conviction, by a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or such smaller sum as may be prescribed; or

(ii) an offence triable either way and punishable, on summary conviction, by a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum and, on conviction on indictment, by a fine;

and

(g) require prescribed charges to be paid to persons carrying out functions under the regulations.

(3) The Secretary of State may by regulations require a water undertaker—

(a) to publish information about the quality of water supplied for domestic purposes to any premises by that undertaker; and

(b) to provide information to prescribed persons about the quality of water so supplied.

(4) Regulations under subsection (3) above—

(a) shall prescribe both the information which is to be published or provided in pursuance of the regulations and the manner and circumstances in which it is to be published or provided;

(b) may require the provision of information by a water undertaker to any person to be free of charge or may authorise it to be subject to the payment by that person to the undertaker of a prescribed charge; and

(c) may impose such other conditions on the provision of information by a water undertaker to any person as may be prescribed.

54 Offence of supplying water unfit for human consumption

(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, where a water undertaker supplies water by means of pipes to any premises and that water is unfit for human consumption, the undertaker shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(2) For the purposes of section 177 below and any other enactment under which an individual is guilty of an offence by virtue of subsection (1) above the penalty on conviction on indictment of an offence under this section shall be deemed to include imprisonment (in addition to or instead of a fine) for a term not exceeding two years.

(3) In any proceedings against any water undertaker for an offence under this section it shall be a defence for that undertaker to show that it—

(a) had no reasonable grounds for suspecting that the water would be used for human consumption; or

(b) took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence for securing that the water was fit for human consumption on leaving its pipes or was not used for human consumption.

(4) Proceedings for an offence under this section shall not be instituted except by the Secretary of State or the Director of Public Prosecutions.

55 Provision of water where piped supplies insufficient or unwholesome

(1) Where—

(a) it is not practicable at reasonable cost for a water undertaker, by supplying water in pipes, to provide or maintain such a supply of wholesome water to any particular premises in its area as (so far as those premises are concerned) is sufficient for domestic purposes;

(b) it is practicable at reasonable cost for the undertaker to provide such a supply to those premises otherwise than in pipes;

(c) the insufficiency or unwholesomeness of the supply of water for domestic purposes to those premises is such as to cause a danger to life or health; and

(d) the local authority in whose area those premises are situated notify the undertaker of that danger and require the undertaker to provide a supply otherwise than in pipes,

it shall be the duty of the undertaker, for such period as may be required by that local authority, to provide any supply to those premises which it is practicable at reasonable cost to provide otherwise than in pipes and which it is required to provide by that authority.

(2) Where under subsection (1) above a local authority require the provision by a water undertaker of a supply of water to any premises, that authority—

(a) shall be liable to the undertaker for any charges payable by virtue of Chapter IV of this Part in respect of the provision of that supply; but

(b) shall have power to recover the whole or any part of any charges paid by virtue of this subsection from the owner or occupier of the premises to which the supply is provided.

(3) In this section references to the provision of a supply of water to any premises otherwise than in pipes shall have effect, in a case in which it is practicable at reasonable cost to provide a supply (whether or not in pipes) to a place within a reasonable distance of those premises, as including references to the provision of a supply to that place.

(4) The duty of a water undertaker under subsection (1) above shall be enforceable under section 20 above by the Secretary of State.

56 General functions of local authorities in relation to water quality

(1) It shall be the duty of every local authority to take all such steps as they consider appropriate for keeping themselves informed about the wholesomeness and sufficiency of water supplies provided to premises in their area, including every private supply to any such premises.

(2) It shall be the duty of a local authority to notify any water undertaker of anything appearing to the authority to suggest—

(a) that any supply by that undertaker of water for domestic purposes to any premises in the area of that authority is, has been or is likely to become unwholesome or (so far as any such premises are concerned) insufficient for those purposes;

(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; or

(c) that the duty imposed on that undertaker by virtue of section 52(1)(b) above is being, has been or is likely to be so contravened as to affect any supply of water to premises in that area;

and it shall be the duty of a local authority to require the provision of a supply in pursuance of section 55 above whenever, in a case falling within paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of that section, they are satisfied, in relation to any premises in their area, as to the matters specified in paragraphs (b) and (c) of that subsection.

(3) Where a local authority have notified a water undertaker of any such matter as is mentioned in subsection (2) above, it shall be the duty of that authority, if they are not satisfied that all such remedial action as is appropriate will be taken by the undertaker, to inform the Secretary of State about the contents of the notification.

(4) It shall be the duty of a local authority to comply with any direction given by the Secretary of State to that authority, to authorities of a description applicable to that authority or to local authorities generally as to—

(a) the cases and circumstances in which they are or are not to exercise any of the powers conferred on them by this Chapter in relation to private supplies; and

(b) the manner in which those powers are to be exercised.

(5) The Secretary of State may by regulations make such provision, supplementing the provisions of this section, as he considers appropriate for—

(a) imposing duties and conferring powers on local authorities with respect to the acquisition of information about the quality and sufficiency of water supplies provided to premises in their areas; and

(b) regulating the performance of any duty imposed by or under this section.

(6) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (5) above, regulations under that subsection may—

(a) prescribe the matters to be taken into account by a local authority in determining, for the purposes of subsection (1) above, what is appropriate;

(b) provide, for the purposes of the exercise or performance of any power or duty conferred or imposed on a local authority by or under this section, for such samples of water to be taken and analysed at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed;

(c) authorise local authorities to exercise or perform any such power or duty through prescribed persons;

(d) provide for the recovery by a local authority from prescribed persons of such amounts as may be prescribed in respect of expenses reasonably incurred by the authority in the exercise of any such power or the performance of any such duty.

57 Remedial powers of local authorities in relation to private supplies

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, where a local authority are satisfied in relation to any premises in their area which are supplied with water for domestic purposes by means of a private supply—

(a) that any water which is being, has been or is likely to be supplied for those purposes to those premises by means of that private supply is not, was not or, as the case may be, is likely not to be wholesome; or

(b) that that private supply is failing, has failed or is likely to fail to provide to any house on those premises such a supply of wholesome water as (so far as that house is concerned) is sufficient for domestic purposes,

the authority may serve a notice in relation to that private supply on one or more of the relevant persons.

(2) A notice under this section in relation to a private supply of water to any premises shall—

(a) give particulars of the matters mentioned in subsection (1) above in respect of which the notice is served;

(b) specify the steps which, in the opinion of the authority serving the notice, are required to be taken for ensuring that there is a supply of water to those premises which is both wholesome and (so far as any house on those premises is concerned) sufficient for domestic purposes;

(c) specify a period, ending not less than twenty-eight days after the day on which the notice is served, within which any representations or objections with respect to the notice must be received by that authority; and

(d) state the effect in relation to that notice of section 58(2) and (3) below.

(3) Subject to section 58 below, where a local authority serve a notice under this section on any relevant person they may do one or more of the following, that is to say—

(a) by that notice designate as steps to be taken by the authority themselves such of the steps specified in the notice as they consider it appropriate to so designate;

(b) by that notice require that person, within such reasonable period as may be specified in the notice, to take one or more of the steps so specified;

(c) by that notice require that person, at such times as may be determined in accordance with provision contained in the notice, to make to another relevant person or to that authority such payments as may be so determined in respect of expenses reasonably incurred by that other person or that authority in taking any step specified in the notice;

(d) by that notice undertake from time to time to make such payments to that person as may be so determined in respect of expenses reasonably incurred by that person in taking any step specified in the notice.

(4) The power of a local authority to serve a notice under this section specifying the steps which are required to be taken in relation to any source from which a private supply is provided both to premises in the area of that authority and to premises in the area of another local authority shall be exercisable only where—

(a) the other authority consent to the service of the notice; or

(b) the authorities act jointly in exercising their respective powers under this section in relation to that source.

(5) The powers conferred by this section and section 58 below shall be so exercised in relation to a private supply of water to any premises where there is no house as to secure that no local authority are required to bear any of the expenses incurred (whether by the authority or by any other person) in taking any steps for ensuring that the supply is wholesome which are specified in any notice under this section.

(6) The steps that a relevant person may be required by a notice under this section to take in relation to any premises shall include—

(a) requiring a supply of water to be provided to those premises by a water undertaker or by any other person; and

(b) taking such steps for the purpose of securing that such a requirement is complied with, and of enabling such a supply to be so provided, as may be specified in the notice.

(7) For the purposes of this section and section 58 below the relevant persons, in relation to a private supply of water to any premises in the area of a local authority, are the owners and occupiers of those premises and (whether or not the source of the private supply is in that authority’s area) the owners and occupiers of the premises where that source is situated and any other person who exercises powers of management or control in relation to that source.

58 Effect, confirmation and variation of notice under section 57

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, a notice served by a local authority under section 57 above shall not take effect until the end of the period specified in the notice as the period within which representations or objections with respect to the notice must be received by that authority.

(2) Where any written representation or objection with respect to a notice by a local authority under section 57 above is received by the authority, before the end of the period specified in the notice, from a person on whom the notice was served, that notice shall not take effect unless—

(a) the notice is submitted by the authority to the Secretary of State and is confirmed by him either with or without modifications; or

(b) the representation or objection is withdrawn.

(3) If a local authority submit a notice under section 57 above to the Secretary of State for confirmation, the Secretary of State—

(a) shall consider whether the notice should be confirmed and whether, if it is confirmed, it should be confirmed with or without modifications;

(b) may, with respect to the matters specified in the notice or any proposed modification of it, direct the local authority to serve a notice under section 57 above, in such terms as may be specified in the direction, on any relevant person who has not previously been so served;

(c) may, for the purposes of paragraph (a) or (b) above—

(i) cause a local inquiry to be held; or

(ii) afford to the local authority, and to every person who has made representations or objections with respect to the notice or a proposed direction under paragraph (b) above, an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed by the Secretary of State for the purpose;

and

(d) if he is satisfied that the person on whom any notice to be served in pursuance of a direction under paragraph (b) above has had a proper opportunity of having his representations or objections with respect to the proposal for the direction considered, may dispense in relation to the notice so served with the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) above and of section 57(2)(c) and (d) above.

(4) Where the Secretary of State confirms a notice under section 57 above (whether with or without modifications)—

(a) he, or if he so directs, the local authority concerned shall serve notice of that confirmation on every person originally served with the notice under that section; and

(b) that notice shall take effect, with any modifications made by the Secretary of State, at such time as may be specified in the notice served under this subsection.

(5) Where any relevant person who is required by virtue of a notice under section 57 above to take any step in relation to any premises fails to take that step within the period specified in the notice, the authority which served the notice may, in accordance with any applicable provision having effect by virtue of section 59 below, take that step themselves.

(6) Where any step is taken by a local authority in relation to any premises by virtue of subsection (5) above—

(a) the authority may recover from the person who failed to take that step within the specified period any expenses reasonably incurred by the authority in taking that step; and

(b) for the purposes of any requirement under which payments are required to be made to that person by any person other than the authority, sums paid by virtue of paragraph (a) above in respect of the taking of any step shall be deemed to be expenses incurred in the taking of that step by the person who failed to take it.

(7) Nothing in this Act shall confer any right of action on any person in respect of any loss or damage sustained by that person in consequence of the failure by any other person to take any step specified in a notice under section 57 above; but any sum required to be paid to any person by virtue of any requirement or undertaking contained in such a notice shall be recoverable by that person from the person who is required to pay it.

(8) Any requirement which is imposed by virtue of a notice under section 57 above on the owner or occupier of any premises and is expressed to bind those premises in relation to the owners or occupiers from time to time shall bind successive owners or, as the case may be, occupiers of those premises and shall be a local land charge.

(9) Subject to subsection (10) below, a local authority may by notice served on any person modify or revoke the effect in relation to that person of any notice under section 57 above or this subsection (including a notice which has been confirmed, with or without modifications, by the Secretary of State).

(10) Section 57(2)(c) and (d) and subsections (1) to (4) above shall apply, as they apply in relation to a notice under section 57 above, in relation to any notice served by a local authority on any person under subsection (9) above except where the notice—

(a) extends the period within which any step is required to be taken by that person; or

(b) discharges, postpones or abates any obligation of that person to make a payment to the local authority.

59 Incidental powers of local authorities

(1) Subject to subsection (4) below, a local authority may serve on any person a notice requiring him to furnish that authority, within a period or at times specified in the notice and in a form and manner so specified, with such information as is reasonably required by that authority for the purpose of exercising or performing any power or duty conferred or imposed on that authority by or under any of sections 56 to 58 above.

(2) Any person designated in writing for the purpose by any local authority may—

(a) enter any premises for the purpose, in relation to any private supply, of—

(i) determining whether, and if so in what manner, any power or duty conferred or imposed on that authority by or under any of sections 56 to 58 above should be exercised or performed; or

(ii) exercising any such power or performing any such duty;

(b) enter any premises to which a supply of water is provided by a water undertaker for the purpose, in relation to a supply so provided, of determining whether, and if so in what manner, such a power should be exercised or such a duty performed or of exercising such a power or performing such a duty; or

(c) carry out such inspections, measurements and tests on premises entered by that person or of articles found on any such premises, and take away such samples of water or of any land or articles, as the local authority—

(i) consider appropriate for the purposes of any such power or duty; and

(ii) have authorised that person to carry out or take away.

(3) Without prejudice to any power exercisable by virtue of a warrant under section 178 below, no person shall make an entry into any premises by virtue of this section except—

(a) in an emergency; or

(b) at a reasonable time and after twenty-four hours' notice of the intended entry has been given to the occupier of the premises.

(4) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for restricting the information which may be required under subsection (1) above and for determining the form in which the information is to be so required.

(5) A person who fails without reasonable excuse to comply with the requirements of a notice served on him under subsection (1) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

60 Assessors for the enforcement of water quality

(1) The Secretary of State may for the purposes of this section appoint persons to act on his behalf as technical assessors in relation to some or all of—

(a) the powers and duties conferred or imposed on him by or under sections 52 to 58 above and section 65 below; and

(b) such other powers and duties in relation to the quality and sufficiency of water supplied by a water undertaker as are conferred or imposed on him by or under other enactments.

(2) A person appointed under this section shall—

(a) carry out such investigations as the Secretary of State may require him to carry out for the purpose of—

(i) ascertaining whether any duty or other requirement imposed on that undertaker by or under any of sections 52 to 55 above is being, has been or is likely to be contravened; or

(ii) advising the Secretary of State as to whether, and if so in what manner, any of the powers of the Secretary of State in relation to such a contravention, or any of the powers (including the powers to make regulations) which are conferred on him by or under sections 52 to 58 above or section 65 below, should be exercised;

and

(b) make such reports to the Secretary of State with respect to any such investigation as the Secretary of State may require.

(3) Without prejudice to the powers conferred by subsection (4) below, it shall be the duty of a water undertaker to give a person appointed under this section all such assistance, and to provide a person so appointed with all such information, as that person may reasonably require for the purpose of carrying out any such investigation as is mentioned in subsection (2) above.

(4) Any person appointed under this section who is designated in writing for the purpose by the Secretary of State may—

(a) enter any premises for the purpose of carrying out any such investigation as is mentioned in subsection (2) above;

(b) carry out such inspections, measurements and tests on premises entered by that person or of articles or records found on any such premises, and take away such samples of water or of any land or articles, as that person considers appropriate for the purpose of enabling him to carry out any such investigation; or

(c) at any reasonable time require any water undertaker to supply him with copies of, or of extracts from, the contents of any records kept for the purpose of complying with any duty or other requirement imposed on that undertaker by or under any of sections 52 to 55 above.

(5) Without prejudice to any power exercisable by virtue of a warrant under section 178 below, no person shall make an entry into any premises by virtue of this section except—

(a) in an emergency; or

(b) at a reasonable time and after twenty-four hours' notice of the intended entry has been given to the occupier of the premises.

(6) Any water undertaker which fails to comply with the duty imposed on it by virtue of subsection (3) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Contamination, waste and misuse of water

61 Offences of contaminating, wasting and misusing water etc

(1) If any person who is the owner or occupier of any premises to which a supply of water is provided by a water undertaker intentionally or negligently causes or suffers any water fitting for which he is responsible to be or remain so out of order, so in need of repair or so constructed or adapted, or to be so used—

(a) that water in a water main or other pipe of a water undertaker or in a pipe connected with such a water main or pipe is or is likely to be contaminated by the return of any substance from those premises to that main or pipe;

(b) that water that has been supplied by the undertaker to those premises is or is likely to be contaminated before it is used; or

(c) that water so supplied is or is likely to be wasted or, having regard to the purposes for which it is supplied, misused or unduly consumed,

that person shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(2) Any person who uses any water supplied to any premises by a water undertaker for a purpose other than one for which it is supplied to those premises shall, unless the other purpose is the extinguishment of a fire, be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(3) Where a person has committed an offence under subsection (2) above the water undertaker in question shall be entitled to recover from that person such amount as may be reasonable in respect of any water wasted, misused or improperly consumed in consequence of the commission of the offence.

(4) For the purposes of this section the owner or occupier of any premises shall be regarded as responsible for every water fitting on the premises which is not a water fitting which a person other than the owner or, as the case may be, occupier is liable to maintain.

62 Regulations for preventing contamination, waste etc. and with respect to water fittings

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make such provision as he considers appropriate for any of the following purposes, that is to say—

(a) for securing that water in a water main or other pipe of a water undertaker is not contaminated, and that its quality and suitability for particular purposes is not prejudiced, by the return of any substance from any premises to that main or pipe;

(b) for securing that water which is in any pipe connected with any such main or other pipe or which has been supplied to any premises by a water undertaker is not contaminated, and that its quality and suitability for particular purposes is not prejudiced, before it is used;

(c) for preventing the waste, undue consumption and misuse of any water at any time after it has left the pipes of a water undertaker for the purpose of being supplied by that undertaker to any premises; and

(d) for securing that water fittings installed and used by persons to whom water is or is to be supplied by a water undertaker are safe and do not cause or contribute to the erroneous measurement of any water or the reverberation of any pipes.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, regulations under this section may, for any of the purposes specified in that subsection, make provision in relation to such water fittings as may be prescribed—

(a) for forbidding the installation, connection or use of the fittings if they have not been approved under the regulations or if they contravene the regulations;

(b) for requiring the fittings, for the purposes of provision made by virtue of paragraph (a) above, to be of such a size, nature, strength or workmanship, to be made of such materials or in such a manner or to conform to such standards as may be prescribed by or approved under the regulations;

(c) for imposing such other requirements as may be prescribed with respect to the installation, arrangement, connection, testing, disconnection, alteration and repair of the fittings and with respect to the materials used in their manufacture;

(d) for the giving, refusal and revocation, by prescribed persons, of approvals required for the purposes of the regulations; and

(e) for such approvals to be capable of being made subject to such conditions as may be prescribed and for the modification and revocation of any such condition.

(3) Without prejudice as aforesaid, regulations under this section may—

(a) impose separate or concurrent duties with respect to the enforcement of the regulations on water undertakers, local authorities and such other persons as may be prescribed;

(b) confer powers on a water undertaker or local authority to carry out works and take other steps, in prescribed circumstances, for remedying any contravention of the regulations;

(c) provide for the recovery by a water undertaker or local authority of expenses reasonably incurred by the undertaker or authority in the exercise of any power conferred by virtue of paragraph (b) above;

(d) repeal or modify the provisions of section 61 above or section 63 below;

(e) provide for a contravention of the regulations to constitute a summary offence punishable, on summary conviction, by a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or such smaller sum as may be prescribed;

(f) require prescribed charges to be paid to persons carrying out functions under the regulations;

(g) enable the Secretary of State to authorise such relaxations of and departures from such of the requirements of the regulations as may be prescribed, to make any such authorisation subject to such conditions as may be prescribed and to modify or revoke any such authorisation or condition;

(h) enable the Secretary of State to authorise a water undertaker or local authority (either instead of the Secretary of State or concurrently with him) to exercise any power conferred on the Secretary of State by regulations made by virtue of paragraph (g) above; and

(i) require disputes arising under the regulations to be referred to arbitration and for determinations under the regulations to be subject to such rights of appeal as may be prescribed.

(4) Any person designated in writing for the purpose by any water undertaker or local authority or designated in writing for the purposes of this subsection in such other manner as may be prescribed may—

(a) enter any premises for the purpose of—

(i) ascertaining whether any provision contained in or made or having effect under this Act with respect to any water fittings or with respect to the waste or misuse of water is being or has been contravened;

(ii) determining whether, and if so in what manner, any power or duty conferred or imposed on any person by regulations under this section should be exercised or performed; or

(iii) exercising any such power or performing any such duty;

or

(b) carry out such inspections, measurements and tests on premises entered by that person or on water fittings or other articles found on any such premises, and take away such samples of water or of any land and such water fittings and other articles, as that person has been authorised to carry out or take away in accordance with regulations under this section.

(5) Without prejudice to any power exercisable by virtue of a warrant under section 178 below, no person shall make an entry into any premises by virtue of this section except—

(a) in an emergency; or

(b) at a reasonable time and after twenty-four hours' notice of the intended entry has been given to the occupier of the premises.

(6) Any sums received by the Secretary of State in consequence of the provisions of any regulations under this section shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

(7) In this section “safe” has the same meaning as in Part II of the [1987 c. 43.] Consumer Protection Act 1987.

63 Power to prevent damage and to take steps to prevent contamination, waste etc

(1) Without prejudice to any power conferred on water undertakers by regulations under section 62 above, where a water undertaker which provides a supply of water to any premises has reason for believing—

(a) that damage to persons or property is being or is likely to be caused by any damage to, or defect in, any water fitting used in connection with the supply of water to those premises which is not a service pipe belonging to the undertaker;

(b) that water in a water main or other pipe of the undertaker is being or is likely to be contaminated by the return of any substance from those premises to that main or pipe;

(c) that water which is in any pipe connected with any such main or other pipe or which has been supplied by the undertaker to those premises is being or is likely to be contaminated before it is used; or

(d) that water which has been or is to be so supplied is being or is likely to be wasted or, having regard to the purposes for which it is supplied, misused or unduly consumed,

the undertaker may exercise the power conferred by subsection (2) below in relation to those premises.

(2) The power conferred by this subsection in relation to any premises is —

(a) where the case constitutes an emergency, power to disconnect the service pipe or otherwise to cut off the supply of water to those premises; and

(b) in any other case, power to serve notice on the consumer requiring him to take such steps as may be specified in the notice as necessary to secure that the damage, contamination, waste, misuse or undue consumption ceases or, as the case may be, does not occur.

(3) Where a water undertaker, in exercise of the power conferred by virtue of subsection (2)(a) above, disconnects a service pipe to any premises or otherwise cuts off any supply of water to any premises, the undertaker shall, as soon as reasonably practicable after the supply is disconnected or cut off, serve a notice on the consumer specifying the steps which that person is required to take before the undertaker will restore the supply.

(4) The steps specified in a notice under subsection (3) above shall be the steps necessary to secure that, as the case may be—

(a) the damage, contamination, waste, misuse or undue consumption; or

(b) the likelihood of damage, contamination, waste, misuse or undue consumption,

would not recur if the supply were restored; and a water undertaker which fails, without reasonable excuse, to serve a notice in accordance with that subsection shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(5) A notice served for the purposes of subsection (2)(b) above shall—

(a) specify the period, not being less than the period of seven days beginning with the day after the service of the notice, within which the steps specified in the notice are to be taken; and

(b) set out the powers of the undertaker under subsections (6) and (7) below.

(6) Where a water undertaker has served a notice for the purposes of subsection (2)(b) above in relation to any premises and—

(a) the case becomes an emergency; or

(b) the premises appear to be unoccupied and the steps specified in the notice are not taken before the end of the period so specified,

the undertaker may disconnect the service pipe to those premises or otherwise cut off the supply of water to those premises; and subsections (3) and (4) above shall apply where a water undertaker exercises its power under this subsection as they apply where such an undertaker exercises its power by virtue of subsection (2)(a) above.

(7) Where, in a case not falling within subsection (6)(a) or (b) above, any steps specified in a notice served by a water undertaker for the purposes of subsection (2)(b) above have not been taken by the end of the period so specified, the water undertaker shall have power—

(a) to take those steps itself; and

(b) subject to subsection (8) below, to recover any expenses reasonably incurred by the undertaker in taking those steps from the person on whom the notice was served;

and any steps taken by a water undertaker by virtue of paragraph (a) above shall be necessary works for the purposes of sections 45 to 51 above.

(8) Where any steps are taken by virtue of this section and it is shown that, in the circumstances of the case, those steps were not necessary as mentioned in subsection (2) or, as the case may be, (4) above, the water undertaker in question—

(a) shall not be entitled to recover any expenses incurred by it in taking those steps; and

(b) shall be liable to pay to any other person who took any of those steps an amount equal to any expenses reasonably incurred by that person in taking any of those steps.

Supplemental provisions of Chapter II

64 Additional powers of entry for the purposes of Chapter II

(1) Without prejudice to the powers conferred by Part IV of this Act, any person designated in writing for the purpose by a water undertaker may enter any premises for any of the purposes specified in subsection (2) below.

(2) The purposes mentioned in subsection (1) above are—

(a) the carrying out of any survey or tests for the purpose of determining—

(i) whether it is appropriate and practicable for the undertaker to exercise any power under any provision of this Chapter to disconnect any pipe or cut off any supply of water to any premises or to carry out any works which it is authorised to carry out under section 50(4), 51(6) or 63 above; or

(ii) how any such power should be exercised;

(b) the exercise of any such power;

(c) the monitoring and recording of—

(i) whether water supplied to any premises for domestic purposes is wholesome at the time of supply; or

(ii) the quality of the water from any source, or combination of sources, which is or is to be used for supplying water to any premises for those purposes,

and the carrying out of any tests for that purpose.

(3) The power by virtue of subsection (1) above of a person designated by a water undertaker to enter any premises for the purpose of carrying out any survey or tests shall include power to take away such samples of water or effluent or of any land or articles as the undertaker—

(a) considers necessary for the purpose of determining any of the matters mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (c) above; and

(b) has authorised that person to carry out or take away.

(4) Without prejudice to any power exercisable by virtue of a warrant under section 178 below, no person shall make an entry into any premises by virtue of this section except—

(a) in an emergency; or

(b) at a reasonable time and after the appropriate notice of the intended entry has been given to the occupier of the premises.

(5) In subsection (4) above “the appropriate notice”—

(a) in relation to an entry for a purpose mentioned in subsection (2)(c) above, means twenty-four hours' notice; and

(b) in any other case, means seven days' notice;

and subsections (2) and (3) of section 52 above shall apply for the purposes of any power conferred by virtue of subsection (2)(c)(i) above as they apply for the purposes of that section.

65 Standards of wholesomeness

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision that water that is supplied to any premises is or is not to be regarded as wholesome for the purposes of this Chapter if it satisfies or, as the case may be, fails to satisfy such requirements as may be prescribed.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, regulations under this section may, for the purpose of determining the wholesomeness of any water—

(a) prescribe general requirements as to the purposes for which the water is to be suitable;

(b) prescribe specific requirements as to the substances that are to be present in or absent from the water and as to the concentrations of substances which are or are required to be present in the water;

(c) prescribe specific requirements as to other characteristics of the water;

(d) provide that the question whether prescribed requirements are satisfied may be determined by reference to such samples as may be prescribed;

(e) enable the Secretary of State to authorise such relaxations of and departures from the prescribed requirements (or from any of them) as may be prescribed, to make any such authorisation subject to such conditions as may be prescribed and to modify or revoke any such authorisation or condition; and

(f) enable the Secretary of State to authorise a local authority (either instead of the Secretary of State or concurrently with him) to exercise in relation to a private supply any power conferred on the Secretary of State by regulations made by virtue of paragraph (e) above.

66 Interpretation etc. of Chapter II

(1) In this Chapter—

• “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;

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

• “private supply” means, subject to subsection (2) below, a supply of water provided otherwise than by a water undertaker (including a supply provided for the purposes of the bottling of water), and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

• “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” and cognate expressions shall be construed subject to the provisions of any regulations made under section 65 above.

(2) For the purposes of any reference in this Chapter 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 subsection 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 Chapter 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 Chapter 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 in question.