Article 15 Discharge of water
Subject to paragraphs (3), (4) and (8) 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 development 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, the watercourse, public sewer or drain.
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) is determined as if it were a dispute under section 106 (right to communicate with public sewers) of the Water Industry Act 1991f1.
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.
The undertaker must not carry out any works to or make any opening into any public sewer or drain pursuant to paragraph (1) except—
in accordance with plans approved by the person to whom the sewer or drain belongs, but such approval must not be unreasonably withheld; and
where that person has been given the opportunity to supervise the making of the opening.
Where the undertaker discharges water into, or makes any opening into, a watercourse, public sewer or drain belonging to or under the control of a drainage authority (as defined in Part 4 of Schedule 10 (protective provisions)), the provisions of Part 4 of Schedule 10 (protective provisions) apply in substitution for the provisions of paragraphs (3) and (4).
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.
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.
This article does not authorise the entry into controlled waters of any matter whose entry or discharge into controlled waters is prohibited by regulation 12 (requirement for environmental permit) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016f2.
In this article—
“public sewer or drain” means a sewer or drain which belongs to Homes England, the Environment Agency, an internal drainage board, a joint planning board, a local authority, a National Park Authority, a sewerage undertaker or an urban development corporation; and
other expressions, excluding “watercourse”, used both in this article and in the Water Resources Act 1991f3 have the same meaning as in that Act.
If a person who receives an application for consent or approval fails to notify the undertaker of a decision within 28 days of receiving an application for consent under paragraph (3) or approval under paragraph (4)(a), or such longer period that is agreed in writing between the undertaker and that person, that person is deemed to have granted consent or given approval, as the case may be.
An application for consent under paragraph (3) or for approval under paragraph (4)(a) must contain a written statement that the provisions of paragraph (10) apply to that application.
If an application for consent under paragraph (3) or for approval under paragraph 4(a) does not include the written statement required under paragraph (11), the provisions of paragraph (10) will not apply to that application.
Annotations
Footnotes
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1991 c. 56. Section 106 was amended by section 35(8)(a) and (8) and 43(2) of, and Schedule 2 to, the Competition and Service (Utilities) Act 1992 (c. 43) and 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.) and paragraph 16(1) of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (c. 29).
- f2
- f3