Drainage (Northern Ireland) Order 1973

Powers of maintenance in relation to designated watercourses and sea defences N.I.

21.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Ministry may, in relation to any designated watercourse or to any designated sea defences, carry out such works of repair and maintenance as the Ministry may consider fit, and, for that purpose, the Ministry may exercise any of the powers mentioned in paragraph (3) and any other powers which may be reasonably necessary for, or incidental to, the carrrying out of such works.

(2) Where any injury is caused to the property of any person by reason of the carrying out by the Ministry of any such works of repair or maintenance, he shall, subject to the provisions of this Order, be entitled to receive from the Ministry the like compensation in respect of such injury as would be payable under this Order if such injury had been caused in the carrying out by the Ministry of a drainage scheme under Part III.

(3) For the purposes of repairing or maintaining any designated watercourse or any designated sea defences, the Ministry may—

(a) maintain existing works, that is to say, cleanse, repair or otherwise maintain in a due state of efficiency any existing watercourse or drainage work, or sea defence works;

(b) improve any existing works, that is to say, deepen, widen, straighten or otherwise improve any existing watercourse, or remove or alter dams, weirs or other obstructions to watercourses, or raise, widen or otherwise improve any drainage work or sea defence works;

(c) construct new works which may be required for the purpose of repairing or improving the watercourse or sea defences;

(d) repair, strengthen, alter, replace or renew any existing embankment and, for that purpose, use any shingle, sand, clay, gravel, stone, rock or other material removed in the carrying out of any drainage work or sea defence works, and deposit any material so removed on any adjacent land.