Water Act 1973

Part I

National policy

National policy for water

1

• (1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (in this Act referred to as " the Minister") to promote jointly a national policy for water in England and Wales and so to discharge their respective functions under subsections (2) and (3) below as to secure the effective execution of that policy by the bodies responsible for the matters mentioned in those subsections.

• (2) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to secure the effective execution of so much of that policy as relates to—

• (a) the conservation, augmentation, distribution and proper use of water resources, and the provision of water supplies;

• (b) sewerage and the treatment and disposal of sewage and other effluents;

• (c) the restoration and maintenance of the wholesomeness of rivers and other inland water ;

• (d) the use of inland water for recreation;

• (e) the enhancement and preservation of amenity in connection with inland water; and

• (f) the use of inland water for navigation.

• (3) It shall be the duty of the Minister to secure the effective execution of so much of that policy as relates to land drainage and to fisheries in inland and coastal waters.

• (4) Accordingly in the following provisions of this Act " the appropriate Minister or Ministers " means—

• (a) in relation to a matter falling exclusively within subsection (2) above, the Secretary of State ;

• (b) in relation to a matter falling exclusively within subsection (3) above, the Minister; and

• (c) in relation to a matter falling partly within one and partly within the other of those subsections, both the Secretary of State and the Minister acting jointly;

and " the Ministers " means both the Secretary of State and the Minister acting jointly.

• (5) It shall be the duty of the Welsh National Water Development Authority established under section 2 below to consider and advise the appropriate Minister or Ministers on any matter concerning that part of the national policy for water which falls to be executed by the Authority and on any other matters (including matters for which the Authority are not responsible) referred to the Authority by the appropriate Minister or Ministers.

• (6) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to collate and publish information from which assessments can be made of the actual and prospective demand for water, and of actual and prospective water resources, in England and Wales.

• (7) The Secretary of State may also (in so far as he considers it appropriate to do so) collaborate with others in collating and publishing the like information relating to the demand for water, and to water resources, whether in England and Wales or elsewhere.

Water authorities

Establishment of water authorities

2

• (1) For the purpose of exercising functions conferred on them by or by virtue of Part II of this Act, there shall be established in accordance with the following provisions of this section authorities to be known as regional water authorities, being the authorities named in column 1 of Schedule 1 to this Act, and also an authority to be known as the Welsh National Water Development Authority (in this Act referred to as " the Welsh authority ").

• (2) Subject to subsection (5) below and Part IV of Schedule 5 to this Act—

• (a) the regional water authorities shall exercise their functions as respects the existing areas described in column 2 of Schedule 1 to this Act (being, in general, areas established for the purposes of functions relating to water resources or land drainage); and

• (b) the Welsh authority shall exercise their functions as respects the existing areas of the Dee and Clwyd, Glamorgan, Gwynedd, South West Wales, Usk and Wye River Authorities.

In this subsection any reference to an existing area is a reference to that area as existing immediately before the passing of this Act except that, in the case of an area which is altered after the passing of this Act under any enactment other than this section, it is a reference to the altered area.

• (3) In this Act and any other enactment " water authority " means an authority established in accordance with this section and " water authority area " means, in relation to any functions of a water authority, the area as respects which the water authority are for the time being to exercise those functions.

• (4) Each of the authorities mentioned in subsection (1) above shall be established by an order made by the Ministers and shall come into existence on a day appointed by the order, and—

• (a) the order or orders establishing the regional water authorities shall be made not later than one month after the passing of this Act; and

• (b) the order establishing the Welsh authority shall be made in accordance with section 3(10) below.

• (5) The Ministers may by order change the name of any water authority or alter the boundaries of a water authority area for the purposes of any functions specified in the order.

• (6) Without prejudice to any power exercisable by virtue of section 34 below, an order under this section may contain such transitional, incidental, supplementary or consequential provision as the Ministers consider necessary or expedient for the purposes of the order.

• (7) Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect in relation to the boundaries of water authority areas, Part II of that Schedule shall have effect in relation to maps of such areas and of watercourses in them and Part III shall have effect in relation to the alteration of such boundaries.

• (8) The supplementary provisions contained in Part I of Schedule 3 to this Act and the administrative and financial provisions contained in Part III of that Schedule shall have effect with respect to water authorities.

Members of water authorities

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• (1) A regional water authority shall consist of the following members, that is to say—

• (a) a chairman appointed by the Secretary of State;

• (b) such number of members appointed by the Minister as may be specified in an order under section 2 above, being not less than two or more than four;

• (c) such number of members appointed by the Secretary of State as may be so specified ; and

• (d) such number of members as may be so specified appointed by local authorities in accordance with subsections (6) to (8) below ;

and any such order shall be so framed that the total number of members appointed by the Secretary of State and the Minister is less than the number of those appointed by local authorities.

• (2) The members appointed by the Minister shall be persons who appear to him to have had experience of, and shown capacity in, agriculture, land drainage or fisheries.

• (3) The members appointed by the Secretary of State shall be persons who appear to the Secretary of State to have had experience of, and shown capacity in, some matter relevant to the functions of water authorities.

• (4) One of the members of the Severn-Trent Water Authority appointed by the Secretary of State shall be a member of the Welsh authority.

• (5) In appointing the members of a regional water authority the Minister concerned shall have regard to the desirability of members of the authority being familiar with the requirements and circumstances of the authority's area.

• (6) Subject to subsections (8) and (9) below, if a quarter or more of the population of any county is resident within the area of a regional water authority, then,—

• (a) in the case of a metropolitan county, the county council may appoint two members, and the councils of the districts within the county may between them appoint two members, of the water authority;

• (b) in the case of a non-metropolitan county or of a county in Wales, the county council may appoint one member, and the councils of the districts within the county may between them appoint one member, of the water authority;

and if one-sixth or more, but less than one-fourth, of die population of any county is resident within that area, the county council may, after consultation with the councils of the districts within the county and wholly or partly within that area appoint one member of the water authority.

Where the area of a water authority is different for different functions, that area shall be taken for the purposes of this subsection to be the area as respects which the authority discharge any functions or, as respects the period between the passing of this Act and 1st April 1974, the area as respects which they will discharge any functions as from that date.

• (7) In the case of the Thames Water Authority, the Greater London Council may appoint ten members, and the London borough councils and the Common Council of the City of London may between them appoint ten members, of the Authority.

• (8) In the case of the South West Water Authority, the Cornwall and Devon county councils may each appoint two members, the councils of the districts in Cornwall may between them appoint two members, and the councils of the districts in Devon may between them appoint two members, of the Authority.

• (9) The Ministers may by order vary the membership of any regional water authority, but any such order which makes different provision in relation to a regional water authority from the provision made by this section in relation to that authority shall not be made unless a draft of the order has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, each House of Parliament.

• (10) The constitution of the Welsh authority shall be prescribed by the order establishing it under section 2 above, but—

• (a) an order establishing that authority or any order varying the constitution of the authority shall not be made unless a draft of the order has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, each House of Parliament; and

• (b) a draft of the order establishing that authority shall be so laid not later than one month after the passing of this Act.

In reckoning that period for the purposes of this subsection no account shall be taken of any time during which Parliament is dissolved or prorogued or during which both Houses are adjourned for more than four days.

• (11) An order made under or by virtue of this section which is required to be laid before Parliament shall, notwithstanding that it makes different provision in relation to one water authority from the provision made by this section or any order under it in relation to any other water authority or authorities, proceed in Parliament as if its provisions would, apart from this section, require to be enacted by a public Bill which cannot be referred to a select or other committee of either House under the Standing Orders of either House relating to Private Bills.

• (12) Members of a water authority appointed by a local authority or authorities may be members of that authority or one of those authorities or other persons.

• (13) Any member of a water authority so appointed who at the time of his appointment was a member of the local authority or of one of the local authorities appointing him shall, if he ceases to be a member of that local authority, cease also to be a member of the water authority at the expiration of the period of three months beginning with the date when he ceases to be a member of the local authority or on the appointment of another person in his place, whichever first occurs; but for the purposes of this subsection a member of a local authority shall not be deemed to have ceased to be a member of the local authority by reason of retirement if he has been re-elected a member thereof not later than the day of his retirement.

National Water Council

Establishment and functions of National Water Council

4

Supplementary provisions as to water authorities

Directions to water authorities

5

Arrangements for discharge of functions of water authorities

6

Supply of goods and services, etc.

7

• (1) The powers conferred by section 1 of the Local Authorities (Goods and Services) Act 1970 (supply of goods and services to local authorities and public bodies)—

• (a) shall be exercisable by a local authority within the meaning of that section as if a water authority and the Council were each a public body within the meaning of that section;

• (b) shall be exercisable by a water authority as if another water authority, any such local authority or a development corporation, and no other body, were a public body within the meaning of that section ; and

• (c) shall, so far as concerns the discharge of sewerage or sewage disposal functions, be exercisable by a development corporation as if a water authority, and no other body, were a public body within the meaning of that section.

• (2) A water authority may require an existing local authority who between the passing of this Act and 1st April 1974 are discharging functions transferred by this Act to the water authority or, where that local authority is abolished by the 1972 Act, the local authority or one of the local authorities who replace the abolished authority, to enter into an agreement under section 1(1) of the said Act of 1970 with the water authority for a period of not more than five years from that date, and it shall be the duty of the local authority who have been so required to enter into such an agreement, unless it is determined by the Secretary of State that the requirement is unreasonable having regard to the discharge of those functions immediately before that date and the operation of any enactment which comes into force on that date.

• (3) An existing local authority who between the passing of this Act and 1st April 1974 discharge functions transferred by this Act to a water authority, or, where that local authority is abolished by the 1972 Act, the local authority or one of the local authorities who replace the abolished authority, may require the water authority to enter into an agreement under section 1(1) of the said Act of 1970 with the requiring authority for a period of not more than five years from that date, and it shall be the duty of the water authority to enter into such an agreement, unless it is determined by the Secretary of State that the requirement is unreasonable having regard to the circumstances of the existing local authority immediately before that date and the operation of any enactment which comes into force on that date.

• (4) If an authority who have required another authority, and an authority who have been required, to enter into an agreement under subsection (2) or (3) above, are unable to agree on all or any of the terms of the agreement, the terms or term may be determined by the Secretary of State ; and any question whether a local authority replace an existing local authority shall also be determined by him.

• (5) A water authority and a statutory water company may enter into an agreement providing that either of the parties shall do any of the following things, that is to say—

• (a) supply goods or materials to the other party ;

• (b) provide administrative, professional or technical services for the other party;

• (c) allow the other party to use any vehicle, plant or apparatus and, without prejudice to paragraph (b) above, place at the disposal of the other party the services of any person employed in connection with the vehicle or other property in question ;

• (d) carry out works of maintenance in connection with land or buildings for the maintenance of which the other party is responsible ;

and any such agreement may contain such terms as to payment or otherwise as the parties consider appropriate.

• (6) Either party to an agreement under subsection (5) above may purchase and store any goods or materials which in their opinion they may require for the purposes of paragraph (a) of that subsection, but nothing in paragraphs (a) to (c) of that subsection shall authorise a party to any such agreement to construct any buildings or works.

Rationalisation of holdings of property, and of functions

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• (1) It shall be the duty of every water authority to consider, in consultation with any other water authority concerned, the desirability, in the interest of rationalisation, of doing either or both of the following, that is to say—

• (a) altering the boundaries of their area for the purposes of any functions of theirs;

• (b) transferring property of theirs to some other water authority.

• (2) In discharging their duty to consider the desirability of altering the boundaries of their area for the purposes of any functions, a water authority shall first consider those boundaries which are different for the purposes of different functions, and in discharging their duty to consider the desirability of transferring any property, they shall first consider any property of theirs held for the purposes of any functions which is situated outside their area as constituted for the purposes of those functions.

• (3) If a water authority decide that it is desirable to do either or both of the things mentioned in subsection (1) above, they shall make a recommendation to the appropriate Minister or Ministers accordingly, and the appropriate Minister or Ministers may—

• (a) if the water authority recommend the alteration of the boundaries of their area, make an order under section 2 above altering those boundaries in accordance with the recommendation; and

• (b) if the water authority recommend the transfer of any property of theirs, make an order transferring that property and any rights or liabilities of theirs in connection therewith to a water authority specified in the recommendation.

• (4) A statutory instrument containing an order under subsection (3)(b) above shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (5) Where a water authority area adjoins any part of Scotland, and it appears to the water authority that there may be water in watercourses or underground strata in that part of Scotland, or in the water authority area, which could be transferred from that part of Scotland to the water authority area, or from the water authority area to that part of Scotland, as the case may be, the water authority shall, in so far as they consider it appropriate to do so, consult with regional water boards, river purification authorities and other authorities in that part of Scotland with a view to securing the best use of that water in the public interest.

• (6) In subsection (5) above " river purification authority " has the same meaning as in section 17 of the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act 1951.