Water Act 1989

76 Charges schemes

(1) A water undertaker or sewerage undertaker may make a scheme (in this section referred to as a “charges scheme”) which does any one or more of the following, that is to say—

(a) fixes the charges to be paid for any services provided by the undertaker in the course of carrying out its functions;

(b) in the case of a sewerage undertaker, requires such charges as may be fixed by the scheme to be paid to the undertaker where, in the circumstances set out in the scheme—

(i) a trade effluent notice is served on the undertaker under the [1937 c. 40.] Public Health (Drainage of Trade Premises) Act 1937;

(ii) such a consent as is necessary for the purposes of that Act is given by the undertaker; or

(iii) a discharge is made in pursuance of such a consent;

and

(c) makes provision with respect to the times and methods of payment of the charges fixed by the scheme.

(2) The persons who may be required by a charges scheme to pay any charge fixed by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above shall be the person who serves the notice, the person to whom the consent is given or, as the case may be, any person who makes a discharge in pursuance of the consent at any time during the period to which, in accordance with the scheme, the charge relates; and a charges scheme which requires the payment of charges where a discharge has been made in pursuance of such a consent as is mentioned in that paragraph may impose—

(a) a single charge in respect of the whole period for which the consent is in force;

(b) separate charges in respect of different parts of that period; or

(c) both such a single charge and such separate charges.

(3) A charges scheme may—

(a) make different provision for different cases, including different provision in relation to different circumstances or localities; and

(b) contain supplemental, consequential and transitional provision for the purposes of the scheme;

and such a scheme may revoke or amend a previous charges scheme.

(4) Nothing in any charges scheme shall affect—

(a) any power of a water undertaker or sewerage undertaker to enter into such an agreement with any person in any particular case as determines the charges to be made for the services provided to that person by the undertaker; or

(b) the power of a sewerage undertaker to enter into any agreement under section 7 of the Public Health (Drainage of Trade Premises) Act 1937 (agreement as to discharges of trade effluent) on terms that provide for the making of payments to the undertaker.