Water Resources Act 1991

33 Power to provide for further rights to abstract

(1) Any of the relevant authorities, after consultation with the other relevant authorities (if any), may apply to the Secretary of State for an order excepting any one or more sources of supply from the restriction on abstraction, on the grounds that that restriction is not needed in relation to that source of supply or, as the case may be, those sources of supply.

(2) An application under this section may be made in respect of—

(a) any one or more areas of inland waters specified in the application or any class of inland waters so specified; or

(b) any underground strata described in the application, whether by reference to their formation or their location in relation to the surface of the land or in relation to other strata subjacent to that surface or partly in one way and partly in another;

and an order may be made under this section accordingly.

(3) For the purposes of this section—

(a) the Authority is a relevant authority in relation to every source of supply; and

(b) a navigation authority, harbour authority or conservancy authority having functions in relation to any inland waters is a relevant authority in relation to those inland waters.

(4) If, in the case of any source of supply—

(a) it appears to the Secretary of State, after consultation with the Authority, that the question whether the restriction on abstraction is needed in relation to that source of supply ought to be determined; but

(b) no application for an order under this section has been made,

the Secretary of State may direct the Authority to make an application under this section in respect to that source of supply.

(5) Schedule 6 to this Act shall have effect with respect to applications for orders under this section and with respect to the making of such orders; and the power to make any such order shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

(6) On the coming into force of an order under this section—

(a) the restriction on abstraction and, in the case of any underground strata, the restriction imposed by subsection (2) of section 24 above shall cease to apply to any source of supply to which the order relates; and

(b) any licence granted under this Chapter which is for the time being in force shall cease to have effect in so far as it authorises abstraction from any such source of supply.