§
Amendment made: No. 91, in page 179, line 1, after '23', insert
'except so far as relating to the making of subordinate legislation'.—[Mr Moynihan.]
§ Amendment made: No. 11—new schedule—
§ 'WATER QUALITY IN SCOTLAND
§ 1. In the Water (Scotland) Act 1980, after section 76, there shall be inserted the following Part—
§ "PART VIA
QUALITY OF WATER
§ Duties of water authorities with respect to water quality.
§ 76A.—(1) It shall be the duty of a water authority—
- (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 authority 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 76B below and subject to subsection (3) below, water supplied by a water authority 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 authority's pipes.
37§ (3) For the purposes of this section where water supplied by a water authority 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 authority's pipes but while in a pipe which is subject to water pressure from a 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 authority, 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 authority's pipes.
§ (4) The provisions of this section shall apply in relation to water which is supplied by a water authority whether or not the water is water which the authority is required to supply by virtue of any provision of this Act.
§ Regulations for preserving water quality
§ 76B.—(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations require a water authority to take all steps as may be prescribed for the purpose of securing compliance with section 76A above; and, without prejudice to the generality of that power, regulations under this subsection may impose an obligation on a water authority—
- (a) to take all such steps as may be prescribed for monitoring and recording whether the water which that authority 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 authority uses or is proposing to use for supplying water to any premises for domestic purposes;
- (c) to ensure that a source which that authority 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 authority 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 authorities, 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 authorities of processes, substances and products which have not been approved under the regulations or which contravene the regulations;
- (b) for the purpose of provision made by virtue of paragraph (a) above, require processes, substances and products used by water authorities 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 authorities 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; and
- (f) 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 authority—
- (a) to publish information about the quality of water supplied for domestic purposes to any premises by that authority; 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 authority to any person to be free of charge or may authorise it to be subject to the payment by that person to the authority of a prescribed charge; and
- (c) may impose such other conditions on the provision of information by a water authority to any person as may be prescribed.
§ Provision of water where piped supplies insufficient or unwholesome
§ 76C.—(1) Where—
- (a) it is not practicable at reasonable cost for a water authority, by supplying water in pipes, to provide or maintain such a supply of wholesome water to any particular premises in its limits of supply as (so far as those premises are concerned) is sufficient for domestic purposes;
- (b) it is practicable at reasonable cost for the authority 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 water authority of that danger and require the water authority to provide a supply otherwise than in pipes,
§ (2) Where under subsection (1) above a local authority require the provision by a water authority of a supply of water to any premises, that local authority—
- (a) shall be liable to the water authority for any charges payable 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.
§ Enforcement of sections 76A to 76C
§ 76D.—(1) This section applies to enforcement of the duties of water authorities under sections 76A and 76C(1) and under regulations made under section 76B.
§ (2) Without prejudice to its generality, section 11 above (power of Secretary of State to make a default order) shall have effect, subject to the following provisions of this section, for the enforcement by the Secretary of State of the duties referred to in subsection (1) above.
§ (3) The Secretary of State may make an order under subsection (2) of section 11 without having caused a local inquiry to be held into the matter.
§ (4) The Secretary of State shall not make an order under subsection (2) of section 11 if he is satisfied—
- (a) that the failures complained of were of a trivial nature; or
- (b) that the water authority have agreed to take and are taking all such steps as it appears to the Secretary of
39 State to be appropriate, for the time being, for them to take for the purpose of securing or facilitating compliance with these duties.
§ General functions of local authorities
in relation to water quality
§ 76E.—(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 authority of anything appearing to the local authority to suggest—
- (a) that any supply by that water authority of water for domestic purposes to any premises in the area of that local 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 76A(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;
§ (3) Where a local authority have notified a water authority of any such matter as is mentioned in subsection (2) above, it shall be the duty of that local authority, if they are not satisfied that all such remedical action as is appropriate will be taken by the water authority, 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 local 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 Part 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.
§ 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.