Article 11 Discharge of water

Subject to the provisions of this article, Network Rail may use any watercourse or any public sewer or drain for the drainage of water in connection with the construction, operation or maintenance of the authorised works and for that purpose, may—

Network Rail shall not discharge any water into any artificial watercourse, or any public sewer or drain, except with the consent of the person to whom it belongs; and that person may impose reasonable terms and conditions but shall not unreasonably withhold consent or delay giving it.

Network Rail shall not make any opening into any public sewer or drain except in accordance with plans approved by, and under the superintendence (if provided) of, the person to whom the sewer or drain belongs, but that person shall not unreasonably withhold consent or delay giving it.

Network Rail shall take all reasonably practicable steps to secure that any water discharged under the powers conferred by this article is as free as is practicable from gravel, soil or other solid substance or oil or matter in suspension.

Any dispute under this article arising between Network Rail and the owner of an artificial watercourse or a public sewer or drain shall, unless the parties otherwise agree, be determined by arbitration.

Nothing in this article affects the operation of Part 4 of the 1991 Act or the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005^f1.

In this article—

• “public sewer or drain” means a sewer or drain which belongs to Scottish Water, a private provider who has made an agreement with Scottish Water under section 1(2)(b) of the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968^f2 (provision of private sewer connections) or a roads authority; and

• “watercourse” includes all rivers, streams, ditches, drains, culverts, dykes, sluices, sewers and passages through which water flows except a public sewer or drain.