Water Industry Act 1991

Chapter V Supplemental Provisions of Part III

92 Power to give effect to international obligations

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, the Secretary of State may by regulations provide that the provisions of Chapters I to III of this Part shall have effect with such modifications as may be prescribed for the purpose of enabling Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom to give effect—

(a) to any Community obligations; or

(b) to any international agreement to which the United Kingdom is for the time being a party.

(2) This section shall not authorise any modification of any of sections 71, 72 and 76 above or of any other provisions of this Part so far as they have effect for the purposes of or in relation to those sections.

93 Interpretation of Part III

(1) In this Part—

• “connection notice” shall be construed in accordance with section 45(8) above;

• “consumer”, in relation to a supply of water provided by a water undertaker to any premises, means (except in Chapter IV) a person who is for the time being the person on whom liability to pay charges to the undertaker in respect of that supply of water would fall;

• “food production purposes” means the manufacturing, processing, preserving or marketing purposes with respect to food or drink for which water supplied to food production premises may be used, and for the purposes of this definition “food production premises” means premises used for the purposes of a business of preparing food or drink for consumption otherwise than on the premises;

• “necessary works” includes works carried out, in exercise of any power conferred by or under any enactment, by a person other than a water undertaker;

• “private supply” means, subject to subsection (2) below, a supply of water provided otherwise than by a water undertaker (including a supply provided for the purposes of the bottling of water), and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

• “private supply notice” shall be construed in accordance with section 80(7) above;

• “water fittings” includes pipes (other than water mains), taps, cocks, valves, ferrules, meters, cisterns, baths, water closets, soil pans and other similar apparatus used in connection with the supply and use of water;

• “wholesome” and cognate expressions shall be construed subject to the provisions of any regulations made under section 67 above.

(2) For the purposes of any reference in this Part to a private supply, or to supplying water by means of a private supply, water shall be treated as supplied to any premises not only where it is supplied from outside those premises, but also where it is abstracted, for the purpose of being used or consumed on those premises, from a source which is situated on the premises themselves; and for the purposes of this subsection water shall be treated as used on any premises where it is bottled on those premises for use or consumption elsewhere.

(3) For the purposes of this Part a service pipe shall be treated as connected with a water main other than a trunk main even if the connection is an indirect connection made by virtue of a connection with another service pipe.

(4) The rights conferred by virtue of this Part as against the owner or occupier of any premises shall be without prejudice to any rights and obligations, as between themselves, of the owner and occupier of the premises.