Water and Sewerage Services (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1993

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved

1993 No. 3165 (N.I. 16)

NORTHERN IRELAND

The Water and Sewerage Services (Amendment)

(Northern Ireland) Order 1993

ARRANGEMENT OF ORDER

Article

Introductory

1. Title and commencement.

2. Interpretation.

Miscellaneous amendments of the principal Order

3. Interpretation.

4. Quality of water supplies.

5. Exclusion of right of appeal in respect of costs or charges.

6. Appointment of assessors.

7. Water and sewerage services.

8. Information.

9. Contamination, waste and misuse of water.

10. Increase in penalty and recovery of expenses.

11. Limitation of compensation.

12. Legal proceedings and international obligations.

13. Transitional provision.

Miscellaneous amendments of other statutory provisions

14. Water supply to new houses.

15. Registration in Statutory Charges Register.

16. Quality of water.

17. Penalty for water pollution.

Miscellaneous

18. Repeals.

Schedule - Repeals

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 16th day of December 1993

Present,

The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council

Whereas a draft of this Order has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament:

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred by 1974 c.28 paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974 and of all other powers enabling Her in that behalf, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—

Introductory

Title and commencement

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Water and Sewerage Services (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1993.

(2) This Order shall come into operation on the expiration of 2 months from the day on which it is made.

Interpretation

1954 c.33(N.I.) 2.—(1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall
                 apply to Article 1 and the following provisions of this Order as it applies
                 to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly
                

(2) In this Order—

"the Department" means the Department of the Environment;

"the principal Order" means the Water and Sewerage Services

1973 NI 2 (NorthernIreland) Order 1973
                

(3) Expressions used in this Order and in the principal Order have the same meaning in this Order as in the principal Order.

Miscellaneous amendments of the principal Order

Interpretation

3. In Article 2 of the principal Order (interpretation)—

(a) in paragraph (2) the following definitions shall be inserted at the appropriate alphabetical place—

"" domestic purposes", in relation to a supply of water to any premises, means the purposes of human consumption, cooking and washing necessary for human health or hygiene but does not include the purposes of the business of a laundry;

"food production premises" means premises used for thepurposes of a business of preparing food or drink for consumption otherwise than on the premises;

"food production purposes" shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (3);

"micro-organism" includes any microscopic biological entity which is capable of replication;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations;

"private sewer" means a sewer not vested in the Department;

"private supply" means, subject to paragraph (4), a supply of water provided otherwise than by the Department (including a supply provided for the purposes of the bottling of water);

"substance" includes micro-organisms and any natural or artificial substance or other matter, whether it is in solid or liquid form or in the form of a gas or vapour;

"wholesome" shall be construed subject to the provisions of any regulations made under Article 3C;";

(b) in paragraph (2)—

(i)for the definition of "domestic sewage" there shall be substituted—

"" domestic sewage", in relation to any premises, means—

(a) the contents of lavatories; and

(b) water which has been used for cooking or washing necessary for human health or hygiene, not being water used for the business of a laundry or for a business of preparing food or drink;";

(ii) in the definition of "main" after "giving" there shall be inserted "or intended to give";

(iii) for the definition of "service pipe" there shall be substituted—

"" service pipe" means, subject to paragraph (5), so much of a pipe which is, or is to be, connected with a main for supplying water from that main to any premises—

(a) as is or is to be subject to water pressure from that main; or

(b) as would be so subject but for the closing of some valve,

and includes part of any service pipe;";

(iv) in the definition of "sewage" for "includes" there shall be substituted "means";

(c) at the end of paragraph (2) there shall be inserted—

"(3) In this Order references to food production purposes are references to the manufacturing, processing, preserving or marketing purposes with respect to food or drink for which water supplied to food production premises may be used.

(4) In this Order for the purposes of references 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 paragraph water shall be treated as used on any premises where it is bottled on those premises for use or consumption elsewhere.

(5) In this Order references to a pipe, including references to a main, a drain or a sewer, shall include references to a tunnel or conduit which serves or is to serve as the pipe in question and to any accessories for the pipe; and, accordingly, references to the laying of a pipe shall include references to the construction of such a tunnel or conduit, to the construction or installation of any such accessories and to the making of a connection between one pipe and another.

(6) For the purposes of this Order a service pipe or drain shall be treated as connected with a main or sewer even if the connection is an indirect connection made by virtue of a connection with one or more than one other service pipe or, as the case may be, drain or private sewer."

Quality of water supplies

4.—(1) Article 3(2) of the principal Order (Department's duty to provide wholesome water) shall cease to have effect.

(2) After Article 3 of the principal Order there shall be inserted—

"Water quality

3A.—(1) The Department shall—

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

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

(2) For the purpose of this Article and Article 3B and subject to paragraph (3), water supplied by the Department 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 pipes of the Department.

(3) For the purposes of this Article where water supplied by the Department 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 pipes of the Department 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 Department, 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 pipes of the Department.

Regulations for preserving water quality

3B.—(1) The Department may make regulations prescribing the steps required to be taken to secure compliance with Article 3A; and without prejudice to the foregoing, regulations under this paragraph may—

(a) prescribe the steps to be taken for monitoring and recording whether the water which is supplied to premises for domestic or food production purposes is wholesome at the time of supply;

(b) prescribe the steps to be taken for monitoring and recording the quality of the water from any source, or combination of sources, which is used or is proposed to be used for supplying water to any premises for domestic or food production purposes;

(c) make provision for ensuring that a source which is used or proposed to be used for supplying water for domestic or food production 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) make provision for the keeping of records of the localities within which all the premises supplied with water for domestic or food production purposes are normally supplied from the same source or combination of sources;

(e) prescribe requirements with respect to the analysis of water samples.

(2) Without prejudice to paragraph (1), the Department may make regulations with respect to the use in connection with the preparation of water for supply to any premises for domestic or food production purposes, of such processes and substances, and of products that contain or are made with such substances or materials, as the Department considers might affect the quality of any water; and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, regulations under this paragraph may—

(a) regulate such use of processes, substances and products;

(b) for the purposes of provision made under sub-paragraph (a), require processes, substances and products so used to conform to such standards as may be prescribed by the regulations;

(c) impose such other conditions as may be prescribed with respect to such use of prescribed processes, substances and...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT