Water Act 1989

179 Provisions supplementary to powers of entry etc

(1) This section applies to any power to which section 178 above applies and to any power conferred by virtue of that section.

(2) A person designated as the person who may exercise any power to which this section applies shall produce evidence of his designation and other authority before he exercises the power.

(3) A person authorised to enter any premises by virtue of any power to which this section applies shall be entitled, subject in the case of a power exercisable under a warrant to the terms of the warrant, to take with him on to the premises such other persons and such equipment as may be necessary.

(4) A person who enters any premises in the exercise of any power to which this section applies shall leave the premises as effectually secured against trespassers as he found them.

(5) Where any person exercises any power to which this section applies in relation to any premises, it shall be the duty of the relevant authority to make full compensation to any person who has sustained loss or damage by reason of—

(a) the exercise by the designated person of that power or of any power to take any person or equipment with him when entering the premises; or

(b) the performance of, or failure of the designated person to perform, the duty imposed by subsection (4) above,

not being loss or damage which is attributable to the default of the person who sustained it or loss or damage in respect of which compensation is payable by virtue of any other provision of this Act.

(6) Any dispute as to a person’s entitlement to compensation under subsection (5) above, or as to the amount of any such compensation, shall be referred to the arbitration of a single arbitrator appointed by agreement between the relevant authority and the person who claims to have sustained the loss or damage or, in default of agreement—

(a) by the President of the Lands Tribunal where the relevant authority is the Secretary of State or the Minister; and

(b) by the Secretary of State or the Minister, in any other case;

and any compensation required to be paid by the Secretary of State or the Minister under that subsection shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament.

(7) For the purposes of subsections (4) and (5) above a person enters any premises by virtue of a power to which this section applies notwithstanding that he has failed (whether by virtue of the waiver of the requirement by the occupier of the premises or otherwise) to comply with the requirement imposed by subsection (2) above or with any requirement to enter those premises at a reasonable time or after giving notice of his intended entry.

(8) A person who intentionally obstructs another person acting in the exercise of any power to which this section applies shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(9) In this section—

• “premises”, in relation to a power which is conferred in relation to vessels (as well as in relation to premises), includes a vessel; and

• “relevant authority”, in relation to a power to which this section applies, means the person who, by virtue of the provision by which the power is conferred or, as the case may be, the warrant, is entitled to designate the person by whom the power may be exercised.