76 Acquisition of land for protection of water.S
(1)For the purpose of any provision of this Act [, or of the [Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 3)] ,] conferring power on [Scottish Water] to acquire land for the purposes of [its] undertaking [or functions], there shall be deemed to be included among those purposes the purpose of protecting against pollution any water, whether on the surface or underground, which belongs to [Scottish Water] or which [it is] for the time being authorised to take.
(2)[Scottish Water] may on any land belonging to [it], or over or in which [it has] acquired the necessary servitudes or rights, construct or maintain drains, sewers, watercourses, catchpits and other works for intercepting, treating or disposing of any foul water arising or flowing upon that land, or for otherwise preventing water which belongs to [Scottish Water]or which [it is] for the time being authorised to take from being polluted:
(a)before constructing any such works [Scottish Water] shall, if the proposed works will affect any watercourses in a fishery district or which is subject to the jurisdiction of a navigation authority, consult with the fishery district board or the navigation authority concerned;
(b)nothing in this subsection shall authorise [Scottish Water] to intercept or take any water which a navigation authority or any public undertakers are authorised by any enactment to take or use for the purposes of their undertaking without the consent of that navigation authority or those public undertakers.
(3)[Where Scottish Water proposes] to construct any drain, sewer or water-course for the purposes mentioned in subsection (2) [it] may, with the consent of the [roads] authority concerned, which may be given subject to such conditions as the [roads] authority think fit, carry the drain, sewer or water-course under, across or along any [road]. . . , and such statutory provisions with respect to the breaking open of [roads] as are applicable to [Scottish Water] shall, with any necessary modifications and adaptations, apply accordingly:
Provided that the consent of the [roads] authority shall not be required by virtue of this subsection for the carrying by [Scottish Water] of any drain, sewer or water-course under any [public road] which is within the limits of supply of [Scottish Water].
(4)A consent required for the purposes of subsection (2) or (3) shall not be unreasonably withheld nor shall any unreasonable conditions be attached to such a consent, and any question whether or not such a consent is unreasonably withheld or whether any condition which it is sought to impose is unreasonable shall in case of dispute be determined by arbitration.