Part 1

Water industry
CHAPTER 3

Regulation of the water industry

General duties of the Water Services Regulation Authority

Primary duty to secure resilience
22
1
Section 2 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (general duties with respect to water industry) is amended as follows.
2
In subsection (2A)—
a
omit the “and” at the end of paragraph (c);
b
after paragraph (d) insert
; and
e
to further the resilience objective.
3
After subsection (2D) insert—
2DA
The resilience objective mentioned in subsection (2A)(e) is—
a
to secure the long-term resilience of water undertakers’ supply systems and sewerage undertakers’ sewerage systems as regards environmental pressures, population growth and changes in consumer behaviour, and
b
to secure that undertakers take steps for the purpose of enabling them to meet, in the long term, the need for the supply of water and the provision of sewerage services to consumers,
including by promoting—
i
appropriate long-term planning and investment by relevant undertakers, and
ii
the taking by them of a range of measures to manage water resources in sustainable ways, and to increase efficiency in the use of water and reduce demand for water so as to reduce pressure on water resources.
2DB
For the purposes of subsection (2DA)—
a
the reference to water undertakers’ supply systems is to be construed in accordance with section 17B;
b
the reference to sewerage undertakers’ sewerage systems is a reference to the systems comprising—
i
the systems of public sewers, the facilities for emptying public sewers and the sewage disposal works and other facilities for dealing effectually with the contents of public sewers that undertakers are required to provide by section 94, and
ii
the lateral drains that undertakers are required to maintain by section 94.