Article 18 Discharge of waterI1

England, Wales and Scotland

(1)

The undertaker may use any watercourse or any public sewer or drain for the drainage of water in connection with the carrying out or maintenance of the authorised project and for that purpose may lay down, take up and alter pipes and may, on any land within the Order limits make openings into, and connections with, that watercourse, public sewer or drain.

(2)

Any dispute arising from the making of connections to or the use of a public sewer or drain by the undertaker pursuant to paragraph (1) must be determined as if it were a question arising under section 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991^f1 (right to communicate with public sewers).

(3)

The undertaker must not discharge any water into any watercourse, public sewer or drain except with the consent of the person to whom it belongs; and such consent may be given subject to such terms and conditions as that person may reasonably impose, but must not be unreasonably withheld.

(4)

The undertaker must not make any opening into any public sewer or drain except—

(a)

in accordance with plans approved by the person to whom the sewer or drain belongs, but such approval must not be unreasonably withheld; and

(b)

where that person has been given the opportunity to observe the making of the opening.

(5)

The undertaker must not, in carrying out or maintaining works pursuant to this article, damage or interfere with the bed or banks of any watercourse forming part of a main river unless otherwise authorised under the provisions of Part 3 (for the protection of the Environment Agency) of Schedule 10 (protective provisions) of this Order.

(6)

The undertaker must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that any water discharged into a watercourse or public sewer or drain pursuant to this article is as free as may be practicable from gravel, soil or other solid substance, oil or matter in suspension.

(7)

This article does not authorise a groundwater activity or a water discharge activity within the meaning of F1the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

(8)

In this article—

(a)

“public sewer or drain” means a sewer or drain which belongs to the Homes and Communities Agency, the Environmental Agency, a harbour authority within the meaning of section 57 of the Harbours Act 1964^f2 (interpretation), an internal drainage board, a joint planning board, a local authority, a National Park Authority, a sewerage undertaker or an urban development corporation; and

(b)

other expressions, excluding watercourse, used both in this article and in F2the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 have the same meaning as in those Regulations.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: Words in art. 18(7) substituted (1.1.2017) by The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/1154), reg. 1(1), Sch. 29 para. 119(3) (with regs. 1(3), 77-79, Sch. 4)
F2: Words in art. 18(8)(b) substituted (1.1.2017) by The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/1154), reg. 1(1), Sch. 29 para. 119(3) (with regs. 1(3), 77-79, Sch. 4)

Commencement

I1: Art. 18 in force at 15.9.2016, see art. 1

Footnotes

f1: 1991 c.56. Section 106 was amended by section 35(8)(a) of the Competition and Service (Utilities) Act 1992 (c.43) and by sections 36(2) and 99 of the Water Act 2003 (c.37). There are other amendments to this section which are not relevant to this Order.
f2: 1964 c.40.