Water (Special Measures) Act 2025

9 Abstraction and impounding: power to impose general conditions

In the Water Resources Act 1991, after section 46A insert—

“46B Power to impose general conditions with respect to licensed activity by water companies

(1) The appropriate national authority may by regulations make provision for the purpose of securing that water industry licences under this Chapter have effect subject to—

(a) conditions specified in the regulations, or

(b) rules of general application specified in or made under the regulations.

(2) A condition or rule to which a licence is subject by virtue of regulations under this section is to be treated for the purposes of this Chapter as a provision of the licence.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a licence under this Chapter is a “water industry licence” if—

(a) it is held by a water undertaker or sewerage undertaker, or

(b) it is held by a water supply licensee or sewerage licensee, within the meaning of the Water Industry Act 1991, for the purposes of the activities to which its water supply licence or sewerage licence relates;

and regulations under this section may apply to water industry licences granted before the coming into force of this section.

(4) In this section, “the appropriate national authority” means—

(a) the Secretary of State, in relation to England;

(b) the Welsh Ministers, in relation to Wales.

(5) Section 219 (general provision about regulations) applies to the power of the Welsh Ministers under this section as it applies to that of the Secretary of State, with the necessary modifications (including the substitution of “Senedd Cymru” for “either House of Parliament” in subsection (1)).”