Water Act 1989
Water Act 1989
1989 CHAPTER 15
An Act to provide for the establishment and functions of a National Rivers Authority and of committees to advise that Authority; to provide for the transfer of the property, rights and liabilities of water authorities to the National Rivers Authority and to companies nominated by the Secretary of State and for the dissolution of those authorities; to provide for the appointment and functions of a Director General of Water Services and of customer service committees; to provide for companies to be appointed to be water undertakers and sewerage undertakers and for the regulation of the appointed companies; to make provision with respect to, and the finances of, the nominated companies, holding companies of the nominated companies and statutory water companies; to amend the law relating to the supply of water and the law relating to the provision of sewers and the treatment and disposal of sewage; to amend the law with respect to the pollution of water and the law with respect to its abstraction from inland waters and underground strata; to make new provision in relation to flood defence and fisheries; to transfer functions with respect to navigation, conservancy and harbours to the National Rivers Authority; and for connected purposes.
[6th July 1989]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
Preliminary
The National Rivers Authority and the advisory committees
1 The National Rivers Authority.
(1) There shall be a body corporate to be known as the National Rivers Authority (in this Act referred to as ‘the Authority’) for the purpose of carrying out the functions assigned or transferred to it under this Act.
(2) The Authority shall consist of not less than eight nor more than fifteen members of whom—
(a) two shall be appointed by the Minister; and
(b) the others shall be appointed by the Secretary of State.
(3) The Secretary of State shall designate one of the members appointed by him as the chairman of the Authority and may, if he thinks fit, designate another member of the Authority (whether or not appointed by him) as the deputy chairman of the Authority.
(4) In appointing a person to be a member of the Authority, the Secretary of State or, as the case may be, the Minister shall have regard to the desirability of appointing a person who has experience of, and has shown capacity in, some matter relevant to the functions of the Authority.
(5) The Authority shall not be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown, or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown, or, by virtue of any connection with the Crown, as exempt from any tax, duty, rate, levy or other charge whatsoever, whether general or local; and the Authority's property shall not be regarded as property of, or property held on behalf of, the Crown.
(6) The provisions of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Authority and its finances.
2 Regional rivers advisory committees.
(1) It shall be the duty of the Authority—
(a) to establish and maintain advisory committees, consisting of persons who are not members of the Authority, for the different regions of England and Wales;
(b) to consult the advisory committee for any region as to any proposals of the Authority relating generally to the manner in which the Authority carries out its functions in that region; and
(c) to consider any representations made to it by the advisory committee for any region (whether in response to consultation under paragraph (b) above or otherwise) as to the manner in which the Authority carries out its functions in that region.
(2) The duty to establish and maintain advisory committees imposed by subsection (1) above is a duty—
(a) to establish and maintain an advisory committee for each area which the Authority considers it appropriate for the time being to regard as a region of England and Wales for the purposes of this section; and
(b) to ensure that the persons appointed by the Authority to each such committee are persons who appear to the Authority to have an interest in matters likely to be affected by the manner in which the Authority carries out any of its functions in the region in question;
and it shall be the duty of the Authority in determining the regions for which advisory committees are established and maintained to ensure that one of those regions consists wholly or mainly of, or of most of, Wales.
(3) There shall be paid by the Authority—
(a) to the chairman of an advisory committee established and maintained under this section such remuneration and such travelling and other allowances; and
(b) to any other members of that committee such sums reimbursing them for loss of remuneration, for travelling expenses or for any other out-of-pocket expenses,
as may, with the consent of the Treasury, be determined by the Secretary of State.
(4) For the purposes of this section functions of the Authority which are carried out in any area of Scotland or of the territorial sea which is adjacent to any region for which an advisory committee is maintained shall be regarded as carried out in that region.
3 Advisory Committee for Wales.
(1) The Secretary of State shall establish and maintain a committee for advising him with respect to matters affecting or otherwise connected with the carrying out in Wales of the Authority's functions by virtue of this Act.
(2) The committee established and maintained under this section—
(a) shall consist of such persons as may be appointed by the Secretary of State; and
(b) shall meet at least once a year.
(3) The Secretary of State shall, out of money provided by Parliament, pay to the members of the committee established and maintained under this section such sums reimbursing them for loss of remuneration, for travelling expenses and for other out-of-pocket expenses as he may with the consent of the Treasury determine.
The transfer of the water authorities' functions etc.
4 Transfer of the water authorities' functions etc.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Act, on such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint as the transfer date—
(a) the functions of the water authorities shall, in accordance with those provisions, become functions of the Authority, of water undertakers or of sewerage undertakers; and
(b) schemes under Schedule 2 to this Act for the division of the property, rights and liabilities of those authorities between their successor companies and the Authority shall come into force.
(2) The Secretary of State shall, by order made before the transfer date, nominate a company in relation to each water authority as that authority's successor company; but a company shall not be so nominated unless it is a limited company and, at the time when the order is made, is wholly owned by the Crown.
(3) Subject to subsection (4) below, each water authority shall continue in existence after the transfer date until such time as they may be dissolved by order made by the Secretary of State.
(4) On the transfer date the chairman and members of each water authority shall cease to hold office; and on and after that date each such authority—
(a) shall consist only of a chairman appointed by the Secretary of State and, if the Secretary of State thinks fit, such one or more other persons as the Secretary of State may appoint as members of that authority; and
(b) shall have only the functions which fall to be carried out by that authority under any scheme under Schedule 2 to this Act with respect to that authority.
(5) The Secretary of State shall not make an order under subsection (3) above in relation to any water authority unless he is satisfied, after consultation with the water authority and with the Authority and the water authority's successor company, that nothing further remains to be done by the water authority under any scheme under Schedule 2 to this Act.
(6) The power to make an order under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument and such an order shall not be amended or revoked—
(a) in the case of an order under subsection (2) above, on or after the transfer date; or
(b) in the case of an order under subsection (3) above, after the dissolution of the water authority to which the order relates.
The Director General of Water Services and the customer service committees
5 The Director General of Water Services.
(1) The Secretary of State shall appoint an officer to be known as the Director General of Water Services (in this Act referred to as ‘the Director’) for the purpose of carrying out the functions assigned or transferred to him under this Act.
(2) An appointment of a person to hold office as the...
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