Water Resources Act 1963

79 Byelaws for protection of water resources

(1) Section 18 of the Water Act 1945 (which empowers statutory water undertakers to make byelaws for the purpose of protecting water against pollution) shall have effect for enabling byelaws to be made under that section by river authorities.

(2) For the purposes of the application of that section by virtue of the preceding subsection—

(a) any reference to statutory water undertakers shall be construed as a reference to a river authority, and any reference to the undertakers shall be construed as a reference to the river authority by whom the byelaws are made;

(b) the reference in subsection (1) of that section to water which belongs to statutory water undertakers or which they are for the time being authorised to take shall be construed as a reference to any such water as is mentioned in section 68 (1) of this Act; and

(c) in subsection (5) the words " and subsection (2) of the next but one following section of this Act" shall be omitted.

(3) Subject to the next following subsection, where it appears to a river authority to be necessary or expedient to do so for the purposes of their new functions or of their functions relating to land drainage or to fisheries, the river authority may make byelaws prohibiting such inland waters in their area as may be specified in the byelaws from being used for boating (whether with mechanically propelled boats or otherwise) swimming or other recreational purposes, or regulating the way in which any such inland waters so specified may be used for any of those purposes.

(4) Byelaws made by a river authority under the last preceding subsection shall not apply to—

(a) any tidal waters ;

(b) any inland water in relation to which functions are exercisable by a navigation authority, harbour authority or conservancy authority other than the river authority;

(c) any inland water falling within section 2 (3) of this Act; or

(d) any reservoir belonging to, and operated by, statutory water undertakers and not falling within the said section 2 (3).

(5) Subsection (3) of this section shall have effect without prejudice to the exercise of any power conferred on river authorities by virtue of subsection (1) of this section or by virtue of any enactment not contained in this Act.

(6) Byelaws made in respect of any inland water by virtue of subsection (3) of this section may include provision prohibiting the use of the inland water by boats which are not for the time being registered with the river authority in such manner as the byelaws may provide ; and the byelaws may authorise the river authority to make reasonable charges in respect of the registration of boats in pursuance of the byelaws.

(7) No byelaw made by virtue of section 18 of the Water Act 1945 as applied by subsection (1) of this section shall conflict or interfere with the operation of any byelaw made by a navigation authority, harbour authority or conservancy authority.

(8) If any person contravenes, or fails to comply with, any byelaws made by virtue of this section (including any byelaws made by virtue of the said section 18 as applied by this section) he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds ; and if the contravention or failure to comply is continued after the conviction, he shall be guilty of a further offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five pounds for each day on which it is so continued.

(9) Without prejudice to any proceedings under the last preceding subsection, a river authority may take such action as they consider necessary Ito remedy the effect of any contravention of, or failure to comply with, byelaws made by them as mentioned in that subsection, and may recover the expenses reasonably incurred by them in doing so from the person in default.