This Act sets the rules for how undertakers (usually councils) build and operate irrigation waterworks, supply water, make by‑laws, charge users, and enforce protections. It governs irrigation rights, metering, compensation, and offences, and creates mechanisms for rates, charges and land charges. Recent provisions add a formal category of “industrial use” (including hydrogen production) and enable the Minister to allow undertakers to contract directly with industrial users or water retailers, require public registers, and limit by‑law charging for those contracted industrial supplies.
This Act establishes a statutory framework for the construction, operation, supply, protection, and charging of irrigation and associated waterworks incorporated into “special Acts” authorising particular undertakings. It does so by setting out:
the core powers of the undertakers to acquire land (including compulsory acquisition subject to the Land Acquisition Act 1993, s 5), enter land and construct works (s 7, s 17), break up highways and reinstate them (ss 10-15), use natural watercourses (s 16), and make and maintain channels, conduits and meters (ss 18, 31-37);
the statutory forms of supply and property in water rights: irrigation rights and general availability (s 23), domestic supply (s 24), and, as recently inserted, industrial supply where the Minister declares it (ss 2A, 24A, 24B);
a mechanism for undertakers to buy water in bulk (s 9), to enter into contracts for industrial supply (s 24B) and to keep registers of irrigation rights and industrial contracts at the Minister’s direction (s 23(3B)-(3E), s 24A(5)(d)(iii));
rules for connecting and metering supplies, evidentiary status of meter readings, meter charges caps and inspection rights (ss 28, 33-38);
a by‑law regime and a power to levy rates, construction charges and other tariffs; charges and unpaid amounts may become a statutory charge on land and be enforced in the same way as local government rates (Parts VII and relevant provisions, especially ss 46-56, 55);
compensation and dispute pathways where land is affected or acquired, including reliance on the Land Acquisition Act 1993 processes for disputed claims (s 20);
a protection regime for water quality and loss prevention (ss 40-45, 69), with criminal and monetary penalties for interference, waste, fouling, or unauthorised taking (s 69);
Current sections
Direct links to the current provisions in Irrigation Clauses Act 1973.
source of supply means any place or point from which the undertakers are by the special Act authorized to take water for the purposes of the special Act;
stream includes spring, brook, river, and other running water;
take, used in relation to water, includes divert and hold back;
the undertakers means the persons authorized by the special Act to construct the waterworks;
the undertaking means the waterworks, and all works, engines, buildings, channels, and other accessories connected therewith authorized by the special Act to be constructed, laid, installed, or maintained by the undertakers for the purposes of the special Act ;
(b) a power given to undertakers to enter land or to do works on land includes a power to do so with or by officers, servants, workmen, and agents and with vehicles, wheeled and tracked.
(1) In this Act, the following uses of water are industrial use:
(a) using water for industrial purposes related to the production of hydrogen;
(b) using water for –
(i) fabricating, processing, washing, diluting, cooling, or transporting, a product; or
(ii) wastewater treatment associated with the processes specified in subparagraph (i) ; or
(iii) generating electricity for use in the processes specified in subparagraph (i) –
where the supply of that water is incidental or auxiliary to the supply of water provided for industrial purposes related to the production of hydrogen.
(2) In addition to the uses specified in subsection (1) , if water is supplied to a water district for industrial purposes related to the production of hydrogen, the Minister may declare, by order, that another use of the water within that water district is an industrial use.
(3) If an order is made under subsection (2) , the Minister must cause a copy of the order to be laid before each House of Parliament within 14 sitting-days of that House after the date on which the order is made, and the order is subject to disallowance under section 47 of theActs Interpretation Act 1931 as if it were a regulation.
(4) For the purposes of this Act, the following uses are not industrial use:
(a) the supply or use of water that is principally for irrigation purposes;
(b) the supply or use of water that is principally for the generation of hydro-electricity;
(c) the supply or use of water by a regulated entity within the meaning of the Water and Sewerage Industry Act 2008 for the purposes of that Act.
3
Incorporation with special Act
3 Incorporation with special Act
This Act shall extend to all undertakings authorized by any Act which declares that this Act is incorporated therewith, or which is declared by some Act to have this Act incorporated therewith; and all the sections of this Act, save so far as they are expressly varied or excepted by any such Act, shall apply to the undertaking thereby authorized, so far as they are applicable to that undertaking, and shall, with the sections of every other Act which is incorporated therewith, form part of any such Act, and shall be construed therewith as forming one Act.
Part II
Construction of Waterworks
Part II Construction of Waterworks
4
Acquisition and disposal of property
4 Acquisition and disposal of property
The undertakers may, upon such terms and conditions as they consider desirable, purchase, take on lease, hire, or otherwise acquire any land, goods, interest, or right required by them for the purposes of the special Act and may dispose of them, if no longer required, to any person and in any manner.
5
Compulsory acquisition of land
5 Compulsory acquisition of land
(1) *[Section 5 Subsection (1) amended by No. 24 of 1993, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*The undertakers may purchase or take any lands or any estate or interest therein which they may require for the purposes of the special Act .
(2) *[Section 5 Subsection (2) inserted by No. 24 of 1993, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*The Land Acquisition Act 1993 applies in relation to the acquisition of any land or any estate or interest in land, and any land, estate or interest acquired, by the undertakers under subsection (1) .
6
Reconveyance of certain land taken
6 Reconveyance of certain land taken
*[Section 6 Substituted by No. 24 of 1993, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*Where –
(a) any land, estate or interest in land has been taken under section 5 ; and
(b) compensation has been determined in the manner of a disputed claim for compensation under the Land Acquisition Act 1993 ; and
(c) the undertakers consider it inappropriate to pay the amount of compensation so determined –
(a) sink such wells or shafts, construct, maintain, lay down, alter, and discontinue such reservoirs, embankments, cisterns, tanks, aqueducts, drains, cuts, sluices, channels, mains, culverts, engines, and other works, appliances, and buildings upon the lands, streams, and lakes authorized to be taken by them, as may be necessary to provide a supply of water for any of the purposes of the special Act ;
(b) for the purpose of constructing, inspecting, maintaining, altering, relaying, or discontinuing any such works, appliances, or buildings, enter upon any lake, or stream, or the beds and banks thereof, and upon any lands, and there take levels and set out works as the undertakers think necessary;
(c) dig, cut, trench, and break up the soil of any such land, and remove all earth, stones, trees, and other things dug or obtained out of the same, and use such materials in the construction or maintenance of any of the works authorized by the special Act ; and
(d) for the purpose of exercising any of the powers conferred by this section, enter into such contracts as the undertakers may deem advisable.
Power to break up highways, open drains, and lay pipes
10 Power to break up highways, open drains, and lay pipes
The undertakers, under such superintendence as is specified in section 12 , may open and break up the soil and pavement of any highway or bridge within the limits of the special Act , and may open and break up any sewers, drains, or tunnels within or under such highways and bridges, and make, lay down and place within those limits channels, service pipes, and other works and engines, and repair, alter, or remove them, and for those purposes remove and use all earth and materials in and under such highways and bridges, and do all other acts that the undertakers deem necessary for the purposes of the special Act .
11
Notice to be given before breaking up highways or opening drains
11 Notice to be given before breaking up highways or opening drains
Before the undertakers open or break up any highway, bridge, sewer, drain, or tunnel, they shall give to the persons under whose control or management those things are, or to their clerk, surveyor, or other officer, notice in writing of their intention to open or break them up, not less than 7 clear days before beginning the work, except in cases of emergency arising from defects in any of the channels or other works, and then so soon as is possible after the beginning of the work or the necessity for it has arisen.
12
Highways, &c., not to be broken up except under superintendence of persons controlling them
12 Highways, &c., not to be broken up except under superintendence of persons controlling them
(1) No highway, bridge, sewer, drain, or tunnel may, except in the cases of emergency mentioned in section 11 , be opened or broken up except under the superintendence of the persons having the control or management thereof, or of their officer, and according to a plan approved by those persons or their officer, or in case of any difference respecting the plan, then according to a plan determined by any 2 justices.
(2) The justices may, on the application of the persons having the control or management of any such sewer or drain, or their officer, require the undertakers to make such temporary or other works as he or they may think necessary for guarding against any interruption of the drainage during the execution of works that interfere with any such sewer or drain.
(3) If the persons having such control or management, and their officer, fail to attend at the time fixed for the opening of any such highway, bridge, sewer, drain, or tunnel, after having had notice in accordance with section 11 or do not propose any plan for the breaking up or opening, or refuse or neglect to superintend the operation, the undertakers may perform the work specified in their notice without the superintendence of any such persons or their officer.
13
Highways, &c., broken up to be reinstated without delay
13 Highways, &c., broken up to be reinstated without delay
Whenever the undertakers open or break up the road or pavement of any highway or bridge, or any sewer, drain, or tunnel, under the authority of this Act, they shall –
(a) with all convenient speed, complete the work for which it was broken up, and fill in the ground, and reinstate and make good the roadway or pavement, or the sewer, drain, or tunnel so opened or broken up, and carry away the rubbish occasioned thereby;
(b) at all times while any such roadway or pavement is so opened or broken up, cause the excavation or broken pavement to be fenced and guarded, and a light sufficient for the warning of passengers to be set up and kept against it every night; and
(c) after replacing or making good the roadway or pavement which has been so broken up, keep it in good repair for 3 months thereafter, and such further time, if any, not being more than 12 months in the whole, as the soil so broken up may continue to subside.
(a) open or break up any highway or bridge, or any sewer, drain, or tunnel, without giving notice under section 11 , or in a manner different from that which has been approved of or determined under section 12 , or without making temporary or other works under section 12 when so required, except in the cases in which the undertakers are authorized to perform such works without superintendence or notice;
(b) make any unnecessary delay in completing any such work, or in filling in the ground, or reinstating and making good the roadway or pavement, or the sewer, drain, or tunnel, so opened or broken up, or in carrying away the rubbish occasioned thereby; or
(c) neglect to cause the place where the roadway or pavement has been broken up to be fenced, guarded, and lighted, or neglect to keep the roadway or pavement in repair for the space of 3 months next after it is made good, or such further time as is mentioned in section 13 –
they shall forfeit to the person having the control or management of the highway, bridge, sewer, drain, or tunnel in respect of which such default is made a fine not exceeding 0.15 penalty unit for each offence and an additional fine not exceeding 0.15 penalty unit for each day during which any such delay continues after they have received notice thereof.
(2) Nothing in this section takes away any other right of action, except from persons who have taken action for the penalty provided in subsection (1) , and no persons who have brought action otherwise for any such default may recover a penalty under this section for the same default.
15
Power of persons having control of highways, &c., to reinstate them in case of delay
15 Power of persons having control of highways, &c., to reinstate them in case of delay
If delay or omission mentioned in section 14 takes place, the persons having the control or management of the highway, bridge, sewer, drain, or tunnel in respect of which the delay or omission takes place may cause the works so delayed or omitted to be executed, and the expense of executing them shall be repaid to those persons by the undertakers.
16
Use of natural watercourses
16 Use of natural watercourses
(1) The undertakers may use any natural watercourse as a channel for the supply of water that they are required or authorized to supply for the purposes of the special Act , subject to the provisions of this section.
(2) Where the undertakers use a natural watercourse under subsection (1) , they shall modify or replace all bridges, crossings, fences, offtakes, and other works affected by such use so that they are as convenient to the owners, occupiers, and users as they were before such use, or as nearly so as is reasonable in the circumstances.
(3) Nothing in subsection (2) affects the maintenance of such works, but where the cost of their maintenance is increased by such use, the undertakers shall pay the increase in cost to the person who would otherwise bear or be liable therefor.
(4) Where the undertakers so use a natural watercourse or in consequence any such works become necessary to give owners or occupiers of riparian land or persons wishing to cross the watercourse such facilities as they had before such use, the undertakers shall construct and maintain the necessary works.
(5) Where such facilities as are mentioned in subsection (4) are provided to the reasonable satisfaction of the owner, occupier, or authority concerned, the undertakers shall make compensation for the difference in value between the facilities lost and the facilities constructed.
17
Works on private land
17 Works on private land
(1) For the purposes of the special Act the undertakers may enter on any private land within the limits of the special Act and there –
(a) make surveys, take levels, examine and test the soil, and set out works;
(b) open and break up the soil; and
(c) make, lay down, or place channels and other works and engines.
(2) Before making their first entry on any land under subsection (1) for the purposes of paragraph (a) thereof, the undertakers shall give 3 days' notice in writing of their intended entry.
(3) Before making their first entry on any land under subsection (1) for the purposes of paragraphs (b) and (c) thereof or any of them, the undertakers shall give the owner and the occupier of the land 7 days' notice in writing of their intended entry, including a brief statement of what they intend to do thereon under those paragraphs and an estimate of how long they will take to do it.
(4) Where under this section the undertakers have made, laid down, or placed channels and other works and engines or done any of such things on private land –
(a) they may –
(i) enter and go along the course of their works;
(ii) inspect, clean out, or repair their works or engines;
(iii) alter, remove, or replace their engines; and
(iv) after notice in accordance with subsection (3) , with such modifications as the case requires, alter the course of, or remove or fill in, their works; and
(b) neither the owner nor the occupier of the land may obstruct their passage for the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection, except that they may erect and maintain fences that would otherwise obstruct such passage if they, at their own cost, make and maintain therein to the satisfaction of the undertakers gates sufficient to allow such passage.
(5) If there is a breach of the duty to make or maintain gates referred to in subsection (4)(b) the undertakers may do what ought to have been done and recover the cost of so doing from the owner or occupier concerned.
(6) Where the entry or passage of the undertakers for the purposes of subsection (4)(a) is obstructed by fences at the time of the entry referred to in subsection (3) or before the completion of the intended work referred to therein, the undertakers may make, or procure the making of, sufficient gates therein.
(7) The gates referred to in subsection (6) shall be made and maintained at the cost of the undertakers.
(8) In this section gate includes cattle grid and movable section of fence.
18
Open conduits
18 Open conduits
(1) The powers conferred by sections 10 and 17 may be used by the undertakers to make open conduits but not so as sensibly to obstruct passengers and traffic in a highway.
(2) Where such conduits are in a highway they shall be, and be kept, securely fenced, if the highway authority so requires, and bridged wherever a frontager reasonably requires a bridge for access from the highway to his land.
(3) Where such conduits are on private land they shall be, and be kept, securely fenced, if the owner so requires, and bridged as provided in subsection (5) .
(4) Fences erected by the undertakers pursuant to subsection (3) shall be deemed to be works, and under the control, of the undertakers and their materials, if removed, become chattels of the undertakers.
(a) bridges agreed upon by the owner and the undertakers to be made by the undertakers when the conduit is made either as part of, or in lieu of, compensation under section 20 ; or
(b) bridges subsequently required by the owner and built at his expense.
(6) Where there are open conduits on private land, the occupier of the land is liable in damages to the undertakers for any harm done to the banks or bed of such a conduit by livestock.
(7) In this section fence includes any gate, cattle grid, or movable section associated with a fence.
19
Undertakers to do as little damage as possible
19 Undertakers to do as little damage as possible
In the exercise of the powers conferred upon them by this Act, the undertakers shall do as little damage as may be, and, so far as is practicable, shall cause all land used in or in connection with the erection or construction of any works to be restored to its original character, and shall provide other watering-places, drains, and channels for the use of adjoining lands in place of any such watering-places, drains, or channels as are taken away or interrupted by the undertakers.
20
Compensation for injurious affection of land
20 Compensation for injurious affection of land
(1) Except as provided in section 21 the undertakers shall make compensation to all persons having a lawful interest in any land, other than land purchased by the undertakers, in or upon which any works connected with the undertaking may be constructed or done, or which may be injuriously affected by the construction and maintenance of the undertaking or otherwise by the exercise by the undertakers of any powers conferred upon them by this Act, for all damage sustained by reason of the exercise, as to such land, of the powers so vested in the undertakers.
(2) Any person claiming compensation under this section shall prefer his claim by notice in writing, specifying –
(a) the place of abode of the claimant;
(b) the particular act occasioning the damage for which compensation is claimed;
(c) the nature and amount of such damage; and
(d) the nature of the title or interest of such claimant in or to the land in respect of which the claim is referred.
(3) If the undertakers, by notice served upon any person, require him to make a claim for compensation for any damage occasioned by the exercise, prior to such service, of any of the powers conferred on the undertakers by this Act, that person is not entitled to compensation for any damage sustained by reason of the exercise of any such powers prior to the service of the notice unless he prefers his claim, in accordance with this section, within 6 months after the service on him of the notice.
(a) grant to the occupiers of any land in the water district, and their successors, a right to be supplied in each irrigation season with a certain quantity of water for irrigation of the land; and
(b) grant to persons (other than occupiers of land in the water district), and their successors, a right to be supplied in each irrigation season with a certain quantity of water for distribution to land, within the water district, that is nominated under subsection (2C) from time to time by the persons or their successors.
(a) the Minister has made a declaration under subsection (2B) in relation to the water district; and
(b) the irrigation right may, in accordance with the conditions, if any, specified in the declaration, be granted.
(2B) [Section 23 Subsection (2B) inserted by No. 21 of 2010, s. 4, Applied:14 Oct 2010] The Minister may, by notice to the undertakers for a water district, declare that the undertakers have, on the conditions, if any, specified in the notice, the right to grant irrigation rights to persons who are not occupiers of land in the water district.
(2C) [Section 23 Subsection (2C) inserted by No. 21 of 2010, s. 4, Applied:14 Oct 2010] A person to whom an irrigation right in respect of a water district is granted in accordance with subsection (2)(b) , and the person's successors, may from time to time, by notice to the undertakers, nominate the land, within the water district, to which the water is to be supplied by the undertakers in accordance with the right.
(b) with different sureties to the intent that the right to a supply of water may be restricted or abrogated in case of inability of the undertakers to supply sufficient water on such grounds as may be specified in the grant.
(a) require that the undertakers provide the Minister or another person with a copy of the register (or the register as it existed on a specified date); and
(b) require that that copy be provided in a particular format.
(4) Under the system of general availability occupiers of land in the water district may, subject to the undertakers' by-laws, take such water for irrigation as the undertakers have or make available to them.
(b) grant irrigation rights to the occupiers of the pieces of land into which the land is divided in accordance with the statement in respect thereof in the scheme of division.
(11) [Section 23 Subsection (11) amended by No. 46 of 1997, s. 7, Applied:11 Nov 1998] Where land is so divided without a scheme agreed to under subsection (8) any occupier of a piece of land to whom an irrigation right has been granted and who required a change in the undertakers' works fully to enjoy that right may request the undertakers to carry out works appropriate in the undertakers' opinion to give him such enjoyment, and the undertakers shall comply with his request.
(12) Where the undertakers have agreed in a scheme of division, or been requested under subsection (11) , to carry out works, they –
(1) The holder of an irrigation right may transfer it with the approval of the undertakers and on compliance with such conditions as may be approved by the Minister.
(2) The conditions may –
(a) require payment of a fee; and
(b) relate to the availability of water, the infrastructure required for the supply of water, the impact of the proposed transfer on the environment or the maximum amount of water which may be taken.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) , the maximum amount of water may be determined by reference to the area of the relevant land.
(a) the undertakers are satisfied that the transfer will be only for a period not exceeding 12 months and the relevant irrigation right will revert to the transferor immediately after that period expires; or
(b) the transferor and transferee are the same person.
(1) The Minister may, by notice to the undertakers for a water district, declare that the undertakers may supply water for industrial use from the water district, and may vary or revoke, by further notice to the undertakers, such a declaration.
(2) If an application for a water district has been approved under section 176 of theWater Management Act 1999 , but no rights have been granted in respect of that district, before a declaration can be made under subsection (1) the Minister must consult with the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association and may take the advice of that association into consideration in relation to making, or refusing to make, a declaration in relation to that district.
(3) If a water district is in operation and rights have been granted in relation to that district, before a declaration can be made under subsection (1) the Minister must consult with each person who owns or holds rights in respect of the water district and may take the advice of one or more such persons into consideration in relation to making, or refusing to make, a declaration in relation to that district.
(4) Before a declaration can be made under subsection (1) in relation to a water district, the Minister must consult with the corporation known as TasWater and may take the advice of TasWater into consideration in relation to making, or refusing to make, a declaration in relation to that district.
(a) must only be made if the Minister is of the opinion that the supply of water from the water district for industrial use will not cause detriment to any other right granted, or agreement made, under this Act or the special Act; and
(b) must only be made, varied or revoked with the agreement of the Treasurer; and
(c) must include a statement specifying –
(i) the total volume of water that may be supplied from the water district for industrial use; and
(ii) the surety of the water that may be supplied for industrial use; and
(d) may be made subject to any conditions, specified in the notice, that the Minister thinks fit, including but not limited to –
(i) conditions regarding the minimum matters to be covered in a contract for the supply of water for industrial use entered into by the undertakers, including the volume of water to be supplied under the contract and the surety of that supply; and
(ii) a condition specifying an area to which a contract for the supply of water for industrial use may relate; and
(iii) a condition requiring the undertakers to keep a register, in a form approved by the Minister, of all contracts for the supply of water for industrial use entered into by the undertakers and to make that register publicly available.
(6) The Minister is to ensure that a declaration made under subsection (1) is published in the Gazette.
24B
Contract in relation to supply for industrial use
24B Contract in relation to supply for industrial use
(1) The undertakers of a water district may enter into a contract with –
(a) an industrial user; or
(b) a relevant water retailer –
in respect of the supply of water for industrial use from the water district.
(2) A contract entered into under subsection (1) may only be entered into if a declaration has been made in relation to the water district under section 24A(1) .
(3) A contract entered into under subsection (1) may allow for the supply of water to land outside the water district.
(4) For the purposes of providing a supply of water in accordance with a contract entered into under subsection (1) , the undertakers may enter onto land and construct works in accordance with Part II .
(5) Parts VI and XI do not apply to a person, or land, in relation to which a contract is entered into under subsection (1) .
(6) Undertakers who have entered into a contract under subsection (1) must not make by-laws, levy rates or charge for water under Part VII in relation to the supply of water under that contract.
(3) [Section 26 Subsection (3) substituted by No. 45 of 1999, Sched. 6, Applied:01 Jan 2000] Any water supplied for the purposes of subsection (1)(c) or (d) is to be supplied upon such terms as may be mutually agreed and, in the case of the supply of water to land situated outside the water district, the undertakers have the same powers of opening and breaking up highways, and of making, laying down and placing channels and other works for supplying that land with water, and the same duties in respect of their works as if that land were within the water district.
(5) Charges for water supplied for the purposes of subsection (1)(e) shall be as prescribed.
(6) Where the undertakers take upon themselves to supply water under subsection (1)(a) or (e) , they shall be deemed to carry on a public trade of the same nature as that of a common carrier, a common innkeeper, or a common smith.
27
Use of water in an emergency
27 Use of water in an emergency
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act the undertakers may supply water –
(a) necessary for the health of the inhabitants of the water district or elsewhere;
(b) for mariners sailing from a port in the water district;
(c) for stock in or travelling through the water district or in danger of dying of thirst in places near the water district; or
(d) for putting out fires.
28
Methods of supply
28 Methods of supply
For the purposes of this Part water may be –
(a) supplied under pressure so as to be available by turning on a valve or tap; or
(b) made available by gravity so that it can be drawn from the channel by opening a gate or by pumping –
and in the former case it shall be deemed to be supplied where the consumer's pipe joins the undertakers' pipe and in the latter case at the gate or inlet when the gate is open or the pump is working.
[Section 29 Subsection (1) amended by No. 46 of 1997, s. 10, Applied:11 Nov 1998] and in either case the supply may also be cut off by an order under the undertakers' seal served on the person to whom the water is made available or by leaving it with a person apparently over the age of 16 years at the place of residence or business of the first-mentioned person forbidding that person to draw water from the undertakers' channels.
(1) Where water is made available as mentioned in section 28(b) , the undertakers may discharge water –
(a) that has reached the lowest part of any of its channels; or
(b) that must be discharged to relieve or save from harm any of its channels –
into a stream, lake, or dry watercourse or over land, making full compensation for damage thereby done.
(2) Where damage is done partly by a discharge of water authorized by this section and partly by water flowing naturally or caused to flow by another person, the undertakers are liable to make compensation only in proportion to their share in doing the damage.
(3) The undertakers may acquire as an easement appurtenant to their waterworks a right to discharge water as mentioned in subsection (1) .
(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) the undertakers' waterworks shall be deemed to be the dominant tenement and sufficiently described as such waterworks.
(a) any occupier of land entitled under section 23 to a supply of water to the land; or
(b) a person entitled under section 23 to a supply of water to land, not occupied by the person, that is land nominated by the person in accordance with section 23(2C) –
the undertakers must make a communication channel, and do other works, necessary for such a supply.
(2) The communication channel and other works between the main or other channel of the undertakers and the boundary of the land supplied shall be provided, laid down, and maintained by and at the expense of the undertakers.
32
Connection with private channels
32 Connection with private channels
(1) Wherever the undertakers lay a communication channel to the boundary of any land to be supplied with water they may either connect it to the communication channel laid on that land for the purpose or may terminate it at the boundary.
(2) Where the undertakers terminate the communication channel at the boundary of any land, the person wishing to connect a channel on the land with the undertakers' channel shall give 2 days' notice of the day and hour when he intends to make the connection, and shall make it under the superintendence, and according to the directions, of the officer appointed for that purpose by the undertakers, unless no such officer attends at the time mentioned in the notice.
(3) Such a notice is not required where the person making the connection is authorized by the undertakers to do such work without supervision.
Part V
Meters
Part V Meters
33
Power of undertakers to attach meters
33 Power of undertakers to attach meters
(1) The undertakers may at any time affix a meter in the channel supplying water to any person (including the inlet pipe of a pump as mentioned in section 28(b) ), and may, without becoming in any way liable to that person, affix it on his land.
(2) A person on whose supply a meter has been so fixed shall draw his supply only through that meter.
(3) The undertakers may charge any such person for the use of the meter, in addition to any water rate or charge for water supplied to that person, such sums as may be prescribed.
(4) No charge for the use of a meter shall, in any year, exceed one-fifth part of the cost of the meter plus reasonable provision for maintenance and administrative expenses.
(5) Such charges shall be recoverable in the same manner as rates due to the undertakers for water.
34
Power of undertakers to let meters
34 Power of undertakers to let meters
(1) The undertakers may let or hire to any person to whom water is supplied by measure any meter or instrument for measuring the quantity of water supplied to that person, for such remuneration in money as may be agreed upon between the undertakers and that person, which remuneration is recoverable in the same manner as rates due to the undertakers for water.
(2) A meter let or hired in accordance with this section shall be attached and affixed to or in the works by which the water is supplied by or under the superintendence of such officer or servant of the undertakers as they appoint for that purpose or by some person authorized by the undertakers to do such work without supervision, and not otherwise.
35
Inspection and removal of meters, &c.
35 Inspection and removal of meters, &c.
(1) A person acting under the authority of the undertakers may enter –
(a) at all reasonable times, any house, room, or building; or
(b) at any time, any land other than a house, room, or building –
to, through, or into which water is supplied by the undertakers by measure for the purpose of inspecting any meter or of removing any meter or associated apparatus belonging to the undertakers.
(2) *[Section 35 Subsection (2) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*A person who hinders any such person from entering or making such an inspection, or affecting such a removal, as the case may be, or who, not being an officer or employee of the undertakers, in any manner injures or interferes with a meter, is liable to a fine not exceeding 0·15 penalty unit, in addition to the amount of damage or injury done.
36
Undertakers' meters, &c., not distrainable, &c.
36 Undertakers' meters, &c., not distrainable, &c.
(1) No instruments, meters, or other apparatus belonging to the undertakers are subject to distress for rent of the premises where they are used, or liable to be attached or taken in execution under any process of any court.
(2) No person may acquire any interest or property in any such instruments, meters, or apparatus under or in pursuance of any adjudication or order in bankruptcy or other legal proceedings against or affecting the consumer of water or the occupier of the premises or other person in whose possession the instruments, meters, or other apparatus may be.
37
Notice of removal, &c., of meter
37 Notice of removal, &c., of meter
(1) Every person desiring to remove or alter the position of any meter shall give 2 days' notice in writing to that effect to the undertakers.
(2) The undertakers shall cause a registration of the quantity of water used to be taken, and the required removal or alteration to be made, and the consequent expense shall be paid by the person requiring the work, and no alteration may be made, except by or under the direction of an officer of the undertakers, or until the permission of the undertakers has been obtained.
38
Evidence of meter reading
38 Evidence of meter reading
(1) The undertakers shall maintain all meters in a sensitive and accurate working condition.
(2) The reading of a meter is conclusive evidence of the quantity of water supplied to the user unless upon being tested as prescribed the meter is found to have more than the prescribed maximum error.
(3) Subject to subsection (4) , if the meter is so found to have more than the prescribed maximum error, the quantity of water supplied shall be assessed in accordance with section 52 on the assumption that the meter was removed when it was read the last time but one before it was tested.
(4) Nothing in subsection (3) affects any period before the commencement of the irrigation season last ended before the test was made.
(5) This section has effect only while there are in force by-laws made under section 47(1)(e) .
39
Protection of meters
39 Protection of meters
The occupier of land on which a meter belonging to the undertakers is installed shall at all times take all reasonable measures to protect it from damage or interference and shall be responsible for its safekeeping in the same manner as a bailee for reward.
Part VI
Protection of Water
Part VI Protection of Water
40
Undertakers may require cisterns in certain cases
40 Undertakers may require cisterns in certain cases
(1) Every person supplied with water for purposes other than irrigation shall, when required by the undertakers, provide a proper storage tank to hold the water with which he is so supplied, with a ball and stop cock in the pipe bringing the water from the works of the undertakers to the tank and shall keep the tank, ball, and stop cock in good repair, so as effectually to prevent the water from running to waste.
(2) If any such person, when required by the undertakers, neglects to provide such a tank, ball, or stop cock, or to keep the same in good repair, the undertakers may cut off the pipe or turn off the water from the land of that person until the tank, ball, or stop cock is provided or repaired, as the case may require.
41
Specification for channels, &c.
41 Specification for channels, &c.
(1) The description of channels and other apparatus by means of which water is laid on, distributed, or supplied within the boundary of any land shall be such as the undertakers determine, either generally or in classes of cases or in any particular case.
(2) The undertakers are not bound to supply water in any case in which the required description of channels or other apparatus is not provided, and may cut off the supply of water from any land supplied with water until the required description of channels or other apparatus is provided.
42
Channels, &c., to be kept in repair
42 Channels, &c., to be kept in repair
(1) If a person, when required by the undertakers so to do, fails to keep in good repair the channels and other apparatus by means of which his land is supplied with water, the undertakers may cut off the supply of water from that land, until those channels and apparatus are sufficiently repaired.
(2) The undertakers may repair any such channels or apparatus so as to prevent any waste of water, and the expenses of that repair shall be paid to the undertakers by the person allowing them to become out of repair.
43
Cisterns, &c., to be constructed so as to prevent waste
43 Cisterns, &c., to be constructed so as to prevent waste
(1) Every cistern or other receptacle for water which the undertakers may require or permit to be used, and every closet, urinal, and private bath supplied with water by the undertakers, shall be constructed and used in such manner as may be prescribed so as effectually to prevent the waste, misuse, or undue consumption of water and the flow or return of foul air or other noisome or impure matter into the channels of the undertakers, or into any channels connected or communicating therewith.
(2) The undertakers may cut off the supply of water to any cistern or other receptacle for water so required or permitted to be used, or any closet, urinal, or private bath which is not constructed or used as prescribed, until that cistern or other receptacle for water, or that closet, urinal, or private bath is constructed and used as prescribed.
44
Inspection of premises for waste
44 Inspection of premises for waste
Any person acting under the authority of the undertakers may, at any reasonable time, by night or day, enter into any land or place supplied with water under the authority of this Act or the special Act to see if there is any waste or misuse of water, and the condition or state of repair of the channels or works by which the water is supplied to that land or place, and may, for the latter purpose break the surface of the ground under which pipes are laid; and if that person is at any such time refused admission into the land or place, or is prevented from making his examination, the undertakers may cut off the supply of water from that land or place.
45
Power to cut off water in certain cases
45 Power to cut off water in certain cases
If any person supplied with water by the undertakers wrongfully does or causes or permits to be done anything in contravention of any of the provisions of the special Act , or wrongfully fails to do anything which, under any of those provisions, ought to be done for the prevention of the waste, misuse, undue consumption, or contamination of the water of the undertakers, they may (without prejudice to any remedy against him in respect thereof) cut off his supply of water so long as the cause or injury remains or is not remedied.
(2) By-laws made under this section shall be kept posted by the undertakers in some public place within the water district.
(3) *[Section 46 Subsection (3) amended by No. 30 of 1995, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*By-laws made under this section have, upon publication in the Gazette, the force of law within the limits of the special Act , and are enforceable in the same manner as by-laws made under the Local Government Act 1993 .
(b) subject to any arrangements made by the undertakers –
prohibit the use of water for any purpose other than irrigation purposes –
(c) within such area; or
(d) otherwise than on such days, if any, and during such hours, if any –
as the undertakers, or some committee or officer named in the by-law, may determine.
(3) A copy of every determination under subsection (2) shall be posted alongside the copy of the by-law posted in accordance with section 46 .
(4) *[Section 47 Subsection (4) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*A person shall not use any water in contravention of any determination under subsection (2) while it remains in force.
Penalty: In the case of –
(a) a first offence, a fine not exceeding 1 penalty unit;
(b) a subsequent offence, a fine not exceeding 3 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months.
(5) *[Section 47 Subsection (5) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*Any such by-law may provide that it may be enforced by cutting off the water, or by some fine not exceeding in any case 0·4 penalty unit.
48
Payment under system of irrigation rights
48 Payment under system of irrigation rights
(1) Where the system of irrigation rights applies, all water supplied for irrigation in the water district shall be paid for as provided in this section.
(3) Every person having an irrigation right is liable –
(a) on the first day of the irrigation season to pay to the undertakers a sum in respect of the amount of water to which his irrigation right will entitle him that season; and
(b) to pay the undertakers for all water –
(i) to which his irrigation right so entitles him; and
(1) Subject to section 48 , the undertakers may levy a water rate upon the annual value of all tenements supplied with water or as provided in section 50 .
(2) *[Section 49 Subsection (2) amended by No. 30 of 1995, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*Water rates levied under this Act shall, subject to subsections (3) , (4) , and (5) , be made, levied, and recovered in the same manner as rates made and levied under the Local Government Act 1993 .
(3) Water rates shall be paid in advance or otherwise and quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly, as determined by the undertakers; and the first payment shall be made at the time when the undertakers' channel by which the water is to be supplied is made to the boundary of the rateable tenement and charged with water.
(4) Where the rateable tenement is a dwelling-house or part of a dwelling of an annual value less than $150 and occupied by a tenant for years or at will the water rate is payable by the person entitled to receive the rent thereof.
(5) Where a tenancy affected by subsection (4) was created before the application of this Act to the water district or it is a term thereof that the tenant shall pay water rates, the person entitled to receive the rent may recover from the tenant as rent any rate paid by him under this section.
(6) Where the supply of water is commenced or discontinued during any period as provided in subsection (3) a proportionate part only of the water rate shall be payable, but where the supply is discontinued otherwise than by default of the undertakers, the rate shall be payable in respect of the whole period unless notice of the discontinuance was given during the preceding period.
50
Special bases for rating
50 Special bases for rating
(1) Instead of rating on the annual value of tenements, the undertakers may –
(a) make by-laws for –
(i) delimiting the land in the water district benefited by their undertaking; and
(ii) if they think fit, classifying those lands according to the degree of such benefit;
(b) rate only on the annual value of the lands delimited under the by-law; and
(c) make different rates for the several classes of such lands.
(2) Where the undertakers supply water for domestic purposes they may by by-law –
(a) except the buildings so supplied and their grounds from the operation of subsection (1) and provide for their separate rating; and
(b) provide for –
(i) a minimum amount for each such building or group of buildings;
(ii) a minimum value below which no rate is payable; or
(iii) a fixed amount for each such building or group of buildings.
51
Charges
51 Charges
(1) Subject to section 48 , the undertakers may charge for water supplied by measure in accordance with a prescribed scale of charges, which charges shall be the same for similar conditions of supply.
(2) *[Section 51 Subsection (2) amended by No. 30 of 1995, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*Such charges shall be enforceable in the same manner as expenses charged on land under Division 9 of Part 9 of theLocal Government Act 1993 .
52
Assessment of unmetered supply
52 Assessment of unmetered supply
(1) Where for the purposes of this Act the quantity of water supplied by the undertakers is to be ascertained and that quantity has not been measured by a meter, the undertakers may assess that quantity, and the certificate of their clerk, secretary, or similar officer of their assessment is, subject to section 56 , conclusive of that quantity.
(2) *[Section 52 Subsection (2) amended by No. 46 of 1991, s. 4 and Sched. 2 ]*In making an assessment for the purposes of this section, the undertakers shall have regard to –
(a) in the case of water supplied for irrigation –
(i) the area irrigated;
(ii) the method of irrigation;
(iii) the layout of the irrigation system and the lie of the land irrigated;
(iv) the type of soil irrigated; and
(v) the type of crop irrigated; and
(b) in other cases –
(i) the use made of the water;
(ii) the occupier's requirement of water; and
(iii) the quantity used in similar previous circumstances.
53
Excess water
53 Excess water
The undertakers may charge for water up to a specified quantity by a water-rate, and for any additional water supplied by measure in accordance with section 51 .
54
Construction charges
54 Construction charges
(1) The undertakers may make and levy construction charges on lands in the water district in accordance with this section, but if they are not a public or local authority only with the consent of the Treasurer.
(2) Construction charges –
(a) may be made and levied annually at any time between the commencement of the construction of the waterworks and the supply of water to the land rated or charged;
(b) shall be calculated by fixing an amount per unit quantity of water and multiplying it by a quarter of the number of such units expected to be drawn yearly for the land concerned when it is supplied with water.
(3) If the undertakers –
(a) abandon their undertaking before supplying;
(b) go into liquidation, are made bankrupt, or become unable to pay their debts before supplying; or
(c) fail for 5 years after first levying the charge to supply –
water for irrigation to land charged under this section, any person who has paid the charge in respect of that land may recover it from the undertakers and has a charge therefor on all their assets.
55
Charges on land
55 Charges on land
(1) The undertakers have a charge on every tenement within the water district for all money due in respect of the tenement under sections 48 to 54 .
(2) *[Section 55 Subsection (2) amended by No. 30 of 1995, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*Charges on land under section 23(12) or under this section are enforceable as if the undertakers were the municipality concerned and the charges were charges on land under the Local Government Act 1993 .
(1) A person liable for rates or charges under this Act or [the special Act](# GS2@Gs1@Nd?@EN) may apply to the Minister to review the rates levied or the scale of charges used by the undertakers or an assessment made by them under this Part.
(2) The Minister may inquire into the matter and may, if he or she finds any impropriety or unreasonable excess, determine that such rates or charges or assessment be reduced or varied and provide for payment of the costs of the inquiry by the applicant or the undertakers.
(3) A determination made under this section may be registered in the Supreme Court and enforced as a judgment of the Court.
(4) So much of such a determination as relates to rates and charges or assessment is to, until it is discharged by the Minister, disentitle the undertakers to recover any greater amounts than those determined.
57
Stoppage of supply of water where payment of rates or charges in arrear
57 Stoppage of supply of water where payment of rates or charges in arrear
If a person liable to pay any amount of water rate or charge for water supplied neglects to pay that amount within due time after it has been lawfully demanded, the undertakers may, after 24 hours' notice, cut off the supply of water to the tenement in respect of which the rate or charge is payable and the expense of cutting off the supply may be recovered in the same manner as that in which the water rate or charge is recovered.
Part VIII
Map of Channels and Underground Works
Part VIII Map of Channels and Underground Works
58
Map and plan of channels and underground works to be made, and corrected from time to time
58 Map and plan of channels and underground works to be made, and corrected from time to time
(1) The undertakers shall, within 6 months from the time at which any channels or underground works have been made or done by them, cause a survey and map to be made of the water district within which any such channels or underground works are made or done, and shall cause to be marked the map the course and situation of all existing channels for the collection, passage, or distribution of water and underground works belonging to them in order to show all such channels and underground works within the water district, and shall, within 6 months from the making of any alteration or additions, cause that map to be corrected, and such additions thereto as may show the line and situation of all such channels and underground works as may be laid down or formed by them after the passing of the special Act .
(2) That map and plan, or a copy thereof, with the date expressed thereon of the last time when it was so corrected, shall be kept in the office of the undertakers, and shall be open to the inspection of all persons interested in it within the water district.
59
Copies of map or plan to be deposited with council clerk, &c.: Inspection
59 Copies of map or plan to be deposited with council clerk, &c.: Inspection
(1) The undertakers shall, within 3 months of the time at which any such map or plan, or any such correction thereof or addition thereto, has been made, deposit with the clerk or engineer of the municipality, according as the council may decide, in which the works are situated, copies of the map or plan, with all such particulars and all corrections and additions made thereto pursuant to section 58 , so far as relates to that municipality.
(2) The clerk or engineer shall receive and keep all such documents and allow all persons interested to inspect them, and take copies or extracts of and from them, upon payment of 30 cents for every inspection, and the further sum of 30 cents for every hour during which the inspection continues after the first hour.
(3) The Governor may, by notice in the Gazette, exempt any undertakers from compliance with subsection (1) in respect of any area not part of a city or town or built upon and not containing any mines.
60
Power of Governor to forbid disclosure
60 Power of Governor to forbid disclosure
Where he thinks national security so requires, the Governor may, by writing to the undertakers and to the corporation under the hand of the Minister, prohibit the disclosure of all or any documents required to be kept under sections 58 and 59 to all or any persons.
Part IX
Mines
Part IX Mines
61
Undertakers not entitled to mines unless expressly purchased
61 Undertakers not entitled to mines unless expressly purchased
(1) The undertakers are not entitled to any mines of coal, ironstone, slate, or other minerals under any land purchased by them, except only such parts thereof as shall be necessary to be dug or carried away or used in the construction of the waterworks, unless those mines have been expressly purchased.
(2) All such mines, excepting as provided in subsection (1) , shall be deemed to be excepted out of the conveyance of such lands, unless they have been expressly named therein and conveyed thereby.
62
Rights of undertakers where mines and minerals in Crown
62 Rights of undertakers where mines and minerals in Crown
(b) the undertakers require for their undertaking to remove them and occupy the space thereby left–
the undertakers, upon covenanting to pay the value, of those mines and minerals, as they lie in the required space, to be determined after their removal, shall be entitled to a grant of those mines and minerals, notwithstanding anything contained in the Mineral Resources Development Act 1995 or in the Crown Lands Act 1976 .
[Section 63 Amended by No. 75 of 1973, s. 2 and Sched. 1 ]
(1) Except where otherwise provided for by agreement between the undertakers and other parties, if the owner, lessee, or occupier of any mines or minerals lying under the reservoirs or buildings belonging to the undertakers, or under any of their channels or works which are underground and are described in the map or plan required by Part VIII to be kept and deposited by the undertakers, or within the distance prescribed by the special Act , if any, or if no distance is prescribed, within 40 metres therefrom is desirous of working those mines or minerals, that owner, lessee, or occupier shall give the undertakers notice in writing of his intention so to do, 30 days before the commencement of working.
(2) Upon the receipt of a notice under subsection (1) , the undertakers may cause the mines to be inspected by any person appointed by them for the purpose, and if it appears to the undertakers that the working of the mines or minerals is likely to damage the works referred to in that subsection, and if they are willing to make compensation for the mines to the owner, lessee, or occupier thereof, the owner, lessee, or occupier shall not work those mines or minerals.
(3) *[Section 63 Subsection (3) amended by No. 24 of 1993, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*If the undertakers and the owner, lessee, or occupier do not agree as to the amount of the compensation, it is to be determined as if there was a disputed claim for compensation under the Land Acquisition Act 1993 .
64
Right of owner to work a mine if undertakers do not state their willingness to treat for payment of compensation
64 Right of owner to work a mine if undertakers do not state their willingness to treat for payment of compensation
(1) If before the expiration of the period of 30 days referred to in section 63(1) , the undertakers do not state their willingness to treat with the owner, lessee, or occupier for the payment of compensation, as provided in that section, the owner, lessee, or occupier may work the mines, and may drain them, by means of engines or otherwise, as if this Act and the special Act had not been passed, but so that no wilful damage is done to the works, and so that the mines are not worked in an unusual manner.
(2) If any damage or obstruction is occasioned to the works of the undertakers by the working of the mines in an unusual manner, that damage or obstruction shall be forthwith repaired or removed (as the case may require), and the damage made good by the owner, lessee, or occupier of the mines or minerals, and at his own expense.
(3) If such repair or removal is not forthwith done, or if the undertakers think fit, without waiting for it to be done by the owner, lessee, or occupier, the undertakers may do the work and recover from the owner, lessee, or occupier the expense occasioned thereby by action in the Supreme Court.
65
Mining communications
65 Mining communications
*[Section 65 Amended by No. 75 of 1973, s. 2 and Sched. 1 ]*If the working of any such mines under the works of the undertakers or within the distance therefrom mentioned in section 63 is prevented by reason of apprehended injury to those works, the respective owners, lessees, and occupiers of mines may cut and make such and so many airways, headways, gateways, or water levels through the mines, measures, or strata the working whereof is so prevented, as may be requisite to enable them to ventilate, drain, and work any mines or minerals on each or either side thereof, but no such airway, headway, gateway, or water level shall be of greater dimensions or sections than the dimensions or sections prescribed by the special Act , or if no dimensions are so prescribed shall not exceed 2·5 metres wide and 2·5 metres high, and shall not be cut or made upon any part of the works so as to injure them.
66
Undertakers to make compensation to owner, lessee, or occupier of mines for expenses incurred by severance of mines, or by interruptions of or restrictions on works, and for minerals not obtained
66 Undertakers to make compensation to owner, lessee, or occupier of mines for expenses incurred by severance of mines, or by interruptions of or restrictions on works, and for minerals not obtained
(1) Except where otherwise provided for by agreement the undertakers shall pay to the owner, lessee, or occupier of any mines of coal, ironstone, and other minerals extending so as to lie on both sides of any reservoirs, buildings, channels, or other works, all such additional expenses and losses as shall be incurred by that owner, lessee, or occupier by reason of the severance of the lands over those mines or minerals by the reservoirs or other works, or of the interruption of the continuous working of the mines or minerals under section 63 , or by reason of their being worked under the restrictions contained in this Act or the special Act , and for any mines or minerals not purchased by the undertakers which cannot be obtained by reason of making and maintaining the said works or by reason of such apprehended injury from the working thereof.
(2) *[Section 66 Subsection (2) amended by No. 24 of 1993, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*If any dispute or question arises between the undertakers and the owner, lessee, or occupier touching the price of such minerals, the price is to be settled as if it were compensation, and as if there was a disputed claim for compensation, under the Land Acquisition Act 1993 .
67
Power of undertakers to enter and inspect the working of mines, after giving notice
67 Power of undertakers to enter and inspect the working of mines, after giving notice
For the better ascertaining whether any such mines are being worked or have been worked so as to damage the undertakers' works, the undertakers may, after giving 24 hours' notice in writing, enter upon any lands through or near which the works are situated, and wherein any such mines are being worked or are supposed so to be, and may enter into and return from any such mines or the works connected therewith, and they may, for that purpose, make use of any apparatus or machinery belonging to the owner, lessee, or occupier of the mines, and use all necessary means for discovering the distance from the works to the parts of the mines which are being worked or about to be worked.
68
Undertakers liable to actions for injuries done to mines
68 Undertakers liable to actions for injuries done to mines
Nothing in this Act or the special Act prevents the undertakers from being liable to any action or other legal proceedings to which they would have been liable for any damage or injury done or occasioned to any mines by means or in consequence of the waterworks, if their waterworks had not been constructed or maintained by virtue of this Act or the special Act .
Part X
Offences
Part X Offences
69
Offences
69 Offences
[Section 69 Subsection (2) amended by No. 99 of 1982, s. 3 and Sched. 2 ]**[Section 69 Subsection (2) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]
(1) *[Section 69 Subsection (1) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*No person shall –
(a) destroy or injure any part of the undertaking;
(b) remove, injure, or destroy any survey peg or landmark inserted or made in connection with any work constructed under the authority of this Act or the special Act ;
(c) in any manner prevent or obstruct the flow of water in or through any part of the undertaking; or
(d) otherwise injure or obstruct the passage of the water through any part of the undertaking.
(2) *[Section 69 Subsection (2) amended by No. 75 of 1973, s. 2 and Sched. 1 ]*No person shall draw water contrary to an order served on him under section 29 .
(3) *[Section 69 Subsection (3) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*No person shall –
(a) bathe in any stream or channel above and within the prescribed distance of the undertakers' source of supply or in any lake which is a source of supply within the prescribed distance of the intake of the waterworks or in any reservoir or other part of the undertakers' waterworks, or wash, throw, or cause or permit to enter therein any animal, whether alive or dead;
(b) throw any rubbish, dirt, filth, or other noisome thing into any lake, stream, or channel from which the undertakers are lawfully diverting water, so as to affect the undertakers' source of supply, or into any reservoir or other part of their undertaking, or wash or cleanse therein any cloth, wool, or leather, or the skin of any animal, or any clothes or other thing;
(c) cause or permit the water of any sink, sewer, drain, steam engine, or boiler, or other filthy water belonging to him or under his control to run or to be brought into any such lake, stream, or channel so as to affect the undertakers' source of supply, or into any reservoir or other part of the undertaking, or do or permit to be done any other act whereby the water in the undertaking or any water supplying the same is fouled; or
(4) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (3) , where the water affected by any of the acts mentioned in that subsection will not be used for some purpose for which that act makes it unsuitable, no offence against that subsection shall be deemed to have been committed.
(5) *[Section 69 Subsection (5) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*No person shall –
(a) being the owner or occupier of any land supplied with water under this Act or the special Act , supply any other person or wilfully permit any other person to take any of such water from any cistern, channel, or service, or on such premises, except for the purpose of extinguishing a fire, or unless such other person is a person supplied with water by the undertakers from their waterworks, and the channels leading or belonging to him are out of repair otherwise than through his own fault;
(c) make any channel to communicate with any waterworks or channels of the undertakers without the authority of the undertakers in that behalf;
(d) wilfully or carelessly break, injure, operate, or interfere with, any lock, cock, valve, pipe, work, or engine belonging to the undertaking, or flush or draw off the water from the reservoirs or other waterworks of the undertakers, or do any other wilful act whereby such water is wasted; or
(e) foul the water supplied by the undertakers by making or supplying gas.
(6) Nothing contained in subsection (5)(a) affects the supply of water in a domestic or social way to persons on the land supplied.
(6A) [Section 69 Subsection (6A) inserted by No. 46 of 1997, s. 13, Applied:11 Nov 1998] A person must not, without the permission of the undertakers, take any water from any reservoir, watercourse or channel belonging to the undertaking, or any channel leading to any such reservoir, watercourse or channel or from any cistern or other like place containing water belonging to the undertaking other than water which is provided for the gratuitous use of the public.
(a) in the case of a first offence, to a penalty of one penalty unit; or
(b) in the case of a second offence in the same irrigation season, to a penalty not exceeding 3 penalty units; or
(c) in the case of a third or subsequent offence in the same irrigation season, to a penalty not exceeding 5 penalty units.
(6C) [Section 69 Subsection (6C) inserted by No. 46 of 1997, s. 13, Applied:11 Nov 1998] On a conviction for an offence under subsection (6A) , the court may order that the supply of water by the undertakers to the person convicted be discontinued for a period of 3 days in the case of a first offence, a period of one week in the case of a second offence or for a period of 2 weeks in the case of a third or subsequent offence.
(7) *[Section 69 Subsection (7) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*Where the undertakers supply water in a separate channel for a special purpose, a person who draws, or by making a channel to communicate with that channel attempts or prepares to draw, water from that pipe for some other purpose is liable to a fine –
but judgment for a penalty under this subsection is a bar to an indictment for stealing or attempting to steal water by means of the same opening in that channel.
(8) *[Section 69 Subsection (8) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*A person supplied with water by the undertakers shall not suffer any channel or other apparatus by means of which his land is supplied with water to be out of order so that the water supplied to that land by the undertakers is wasted.
(9) *[Section 69 Subsection (9) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*A person shall not permit or suffer the drainage from any yard, pigsty, stable, cow-house, sawmill, or other place to so run, drain, or percolate as to render the water in the waterworks or supplying them unwholesome.
(10) Every person convicted of any offence against this Act may be ordered to pay, in addition to the penalty imposed in respect of the offence, a sum equal to the value of the property damaged or destroyed by him by reason of the commission of the offence.
(1) The Minister may, by order, confer irrigation rights on owners and occupiers of land within the district referred to in section 308(1) of theWater Management Act 1999 as the River Clyde Irrigation District.
(a) is to be consistent with any by-laws made under this Act; and
(b) is to be published in the Gazette and in such daily newspapers circulating generally in Tasmania as the Minister thinks fit.
(3) The Minister must cause a copy of the order to be laid before each House of Parliament within 14 sitting-days of that House after the date on which the order is made and the order is subject to disallowance under section 47 of theActs Interpretation Act 1931 as if it were a regulation.
Source text: opening excerpt
Sourced from Tasmanian Legislation Online (legislation.tas.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Part I Preliminary
Part I Preliminary
1 Short title
1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the Irrigation Clauses Act 1973 .
2 Interpretation
2 Interpretation
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 30 of 1995, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]
(1) *[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 99 of 1982, s. 3 and Sched. 2 ]*In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 46 of 1997, s. 4, Applied:11 Nov 1998]authorised officer means a person appointed as an authorised officer under section 70 ;
channel includes pipe and conduit;
clerk means a general manager within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993 ;
corporation means a council;
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 36 of 2023, s. 4, Applied:11 Dec 2023]industrial use – see section 2A ;
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 36 of 2023, s. 4, Applied:11 Dec 2023]industrial user means a person who requires a supply of water for industrial use;
irrigation includes any means of watering fields, gardens, and orchards;
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 46 of 1997, s. 4, Applied:11 Nov 1998]irrigation infringement notice means an irrigation infringement notice in force under Part XI ;
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 30 of 2005, s. 14, Applied:11 Jul 2005]
means the right to be supplied with water for irrigation referred to in or an irrigation right conferred by the Minister under ;
Irrigation Clauses Act 1973 (Tasmania) | Zoe
administrative enforcement options outside criminal proceedings: authorised officers, irrigation infringement notices and fixed monetary penalties (Part XI, ss 70-73), and a power for the undertakers to discontinue supply as an enforcement measure (ss 29, 57, 73);
obligations to maintain maps/plans of channels and underground works and to deposit copies with municipality officers (ss 58-59), subject to a Governor power to restrict disclosure on national security grounds (s 60);
special provisions for the River Clyde district allowing the Minister to confer irrigation rights by order (s 75).
Mechanically, the recent insertions and amendments in the source text materially expand the Act’s scope for industrial water use: s 2A defines “industrial use” (including hydrogen production‑related uses); s 24A creates a Ministerial declaration mechanism that enables industrial supply from a water district; s 24B allows undertakers to contract with industrial users and relevant water retailers and explicitly excludes certain Parts (VI and XI) from applying to persons or land subject to such contracts (s 24B(5)). Those changes create a dual track for supply: the traditional irrigation/domestic regime (with by‑laws, metres, charges, infringement notices and protections) and a contract‑based industrial supply track governed by Ministerial declaration and contract terms (ss 23, 24A, 24B). The Act therefore now embeds an administrative delegation point to the Minister and, in some circumstances, the Treasurer (s 24A(5)(b)), that determines whether contractual industrial supply can proceed and on what surety, volume and conditions.
The instrument is operative only to the extent it is incorporated with a special Act (s 3). Where a special Act incorporates this Act, its provisions apply unless the special Act expressly varies them (s 3). The text also cross‑references multiple external Acts (Local Government Act 1993, Water Management Act 1999, Land Acquisition Act 1993, Water and Sewerage Industry Act 2008, Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act 2005, Acts Interpretation Act 1931), making practical implementation dependent on interactions with those regimes.
Main concepts
Definitions and delegations shape practical outcomes. The Act defines its principal actors and terms and delegates significant discretions.
Undertakers and the special Act: The Act applies only when incorporated with a special Act that authorises construction of waterworks; “the special Act” and “the undertakers” are core, recurring concepts (s 2; s 3). Where a special Act incorporates this Act with variations, the variation controls for that undertaking (s 3).
Water district and the undertaking: “Water district” is defined via the special Act (s 2). The “undertaking” denotes the physical works authorised by the special Act (s 2).
Irrigation rights versus general availability: The Act creates two supply regimes. Under the system of irrigation rights the undertakers may grant rights to occupiers (or, subject to Ministerial declaration, to non‑occupiers) to be supplied specified quantities each season (s 23(1)-(3), (2A)-(2C)). Under general availability occupiers may take water subject to by‑laws (s 23(4)). Irrigation rights are subject to by‑laws and conditions; the undertakers must keep a register of rights and produce it at the Minister’s direction (s 23(3A)-(3E)).
Industrial use and industrial users: The 2023 insertion (s 2A) defines industrial use narrowly in text and permits the Minister to declare additional uses within a district to be industrial. It expressly excludes supplies principally for irrigation or hydro‑electricity and certain regulated entities under the Water and Sewerage Industry Act 2008 (s 2A(4)). The Minister can declare that a water district may supply for industrial use (s 24A); once declared, undertakers may contract with industrial users or relevant water retailers (s 24B).
Contracts for industrial supply: s 24B permits contracts only where a declaration under s 24A(1) exists; such contracts may confer supply outside the water district and permit the undertakers to construct works under Part II. Critically, ss 24B(5)-(6) provide that Parts VI and XI do not apply to persons or land in respect of which such contracts are entered into, and undertakers who have contracted are barred from making by‑laws or levying rates/charging under Part VII in relation to the supply under that contract.
Ministerial and Treasurer involvement: The Minister has statutory powers to declare districts open to non‑occupier irrigation rights (s 23(2B)), to require registers and formats (s 23(3D)-(3E)), to make the industrial declaration (s 24A(1)) and to set parameters for industrial supply (s 24A(5)(c)-(d)). Section 24A requires the Treasurer’s agreement for any declaration, variation or revocation (s 24A(5)(b)). The Minister must publish certain instruments (ss 2A(3), 24A(6), 75(2)) and the Acts Interpretation Act disallowance mechanism applies to some orders (ss 2A(3), 75(3)).
By‑laws, rates and charges: Undertakers can make by‑laws (s 46) either under their own power or via the Local Government Act 1993. By‑laws may regulate irrigable land assessment, irrigation rights, charges, channels, meter testing, and prevention of waste (s 47(1)(a)-(f)). Charges under irrigation rights or by measurement are enforceable as charges on land under Local Government Act procedures (s 48(4)(c), s 51(2), s 55).
Enforcement architecture: Criminal offences for damage, unauthorised taking, waste and fouling (s 69) are complemented by administrative enforcement: authorised officers (s 70), irrigation infringement notices modelled on the Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act 2005 (s 71), power to discontinue supply (s 29, s 73), and by‑law enforcement powers including water cut‑off and fines (ss 46-47).
Compensation and dispute resolution: Compensation for injurious affection is provided (s 20). If parties cannot agree, compensation is to be determined under the Land Acquisition Act 1993 procedures or by Magistrates Court where categorised as a minor civil claim (s 20(4)). The Act repeatedly refers disputes over compensation and assessment back to the Land Acquisition Act framework (ss 6, 20, 63, 66).
These concepts allocate decision authority to undertakers for most operational decisions (construction, channels, meters, by‑laws, connection works) while reserving strategic decisions about expanding supply types (non‑occupier rights, industrial use) to the Minister and, in one respect, the Treasurer (s 24A). The Act establishes statutory property‑like entitlements (irrigation rights) that are transferable with undertaker approval (s 23A).
Who it affects
The Act’s practical reach is multi‑layered. Primary and secondary groups affected are:
Undertakers: entities authorised by a special Act to construct and operate irrigation works. The Act grants them wide powers to acquire land (s 4-6), enter and build (s 7, s 17), connect supplies (ss 31-32), affix and let meters (ss 33-34), make by‑laws and levy rates and charges (ss 46-55), repair works and recover costs (ss 13, 15, 42), keep maps (ss 58-59) and appoint authorised officers (s 70). Undertakers also carry liability to pay compensation (s 20) and to maintain meters (s 38(1)).
Occupiers and owners of land in a water district: occupiers have statutory access to supply under either irrigation rights or general availability (s 23). They may be required to accept meters, supply cisterns for domestic supply (s 40), maintain private channels and gates (s 17(4)-(7)), and are liable for payment of irrigation rates/charges (ss 48-51). They may be subject to by‑laws limiting use (ss 46-47) and to inspection (s 44).
Non‑occupier right‑holders and transferees: under s 23(2)(b) and s 23A non‑occupier rights may be granted when the Minister declares the option available (s 23(2B)). Transfer of irrigation rights requires undertaker approval and, in many cases, consent of each person with a financial interest (s 23A(1), (4)).
Industrial users and relevant water retailers: the 2023 amendments expressly target industrial users (s 2A) and relevant water retailers (s 2). Where the Minister declares a district open for industrial use (s 24A), industrial users and relevant water retailers can contract with undertakers (s 24B). Contracts may displace certain statutory protections and enforcement parts (s 24B(5)) and undertakers who contract cannot levy Part VII charges for water under those contracts (s 24B(6)).
Minister and Treasurer: the Minister takes decisions about non‑occupier irrigation rights (s 23(2B)), industrial declarations and conditions (s 24A), the registers and formats required (s 23(3D)-(3E)), and making orders for particular districts (s 75). The Treasurer must agree to any industrial declaration, its variation or revocation (s 24A(5)(b)).
Municipalities, councils and TasWater: councils (referred to as corporations in s 2) and the Local Government Act 1993 are engaged for by‑laws (ss 46-47), deposit of maps (s 59), and enforcement processes for charges (ss 48(4)(c), 51(2), 55). s 24A explicitly requires consultation with TasWater before making a declaration for industrial supply (s 24A(4)).
The public and third parties: users of public highways (ss 10-15), owners of mines or minerals near works (Parts VIII-IX, ss 61-68), and those dependent on water (for drinking, stock, emergency needs, s 27) are affected. The Governor may prohibit disclosure of maps on national security grounds (s 60), which affects public access.
Who pays and who decides: Undertakers determine many technical matters and levy charges; landowners and occupiers pay rates/charges and construction charges (ss 48-55). The Minister and Treasurer decide whether industrial supply may proceed and under what conditions (s 24A). Courts (Magistrates or Supreme under Land Acquisition Act procedures) decide disputed compensation and may register Ministerial determinations as enforceable judgments (s 20(4), s 56(3)).
Behavioural effects: landowners must maintain channels and meters and may be cut off for failure (ss 37, 42, 45, 57). Undertakers may elect to supply industrial users by contract rather than by by‑law/rate models, shifting revenues and regulatory exposure (s 24B(5)-(6)). The Act also incentivises undertakers to keep maps and registers current (ss 23(3B)-(3E), 58-59) under Ministerial direction (s 23(3D)-(3E)).
Key duties and rights
The Act prescribes duties, grants powers, and creates rights with enforcement mechanisms.
Duties of undertakers and administrative rights:
Acquire and dispose of property reasonably (s 4); compulsory acquisition subject to Land Acquisition Act (s 5).
Construct, maintain and alter works; enter upon land and water courses for construction and maintenance (s 7, s 17). Give notice before entries onto private land (s 17(2)-(3)) and before breaking up highways (s 11).
Reinstate highways and make good works promptly and bear continued repair obligations for a statutory period (s 13); face fines and liability for costs if they delay (s 14-15).
Make channels to boundaries and provide communication channels to occupiers entitled to supply (ss 23(5), 31(1)-(2)). The channel and works to the land boundary are provided at undertakers’ expense (s 31(2)).
Keep and provide maps of channels and underground works, deposit copies with municipality clerks and allow inspection subject to fees (ss 58-59); accept Governor restrictions for national security (s 60).
Keep registers of irrigation rights and, if required, provide the register to the Minister in a specified format (s 23(3B)-(3E)); failure to comply is a penalty (s 23(3E): fine up to 5 penalty units).
Maintain meters in accurate working condition (s 38(1)), affix meters and charge for meters within a capped annual amount (ss 33(1), (3)-(4)); inspect and remove meters with entry rights (s 35).
Apply by‑laws within their water district and post by‑laws publicly; where they lack local government powers, obtain Minister and Governor consent to make by‑laws (s 46).
Where contracts are entered under s 24B, undertakers must not make by‑laws, levy rates or charge under Part VII in relation to those contracts (s 24B(6)) and Parts VI and XI do not apply to persons or land under such contracts (s 24B(5)), shifting some compliance obligations.
Rights and obligations of landowners/occupiers:
Right to supply: occupiers are entitled to supply under s 23 as irrigation rights or general availability (s 23(1), (4)).
Payment obligations: holders of irrigation rights must pay a season charge and for water supplied at rates determined before the season (s 48(2)-(3)); charges recoverable as charges on land (s 48(4)(c), s 51(2), s 55).
Duties to maintain on‑farm channels and apparatus when required and to install cisterns/tanks where required for non‑irrigation supplies (ss 40, 41, 42). Undertakers may cut off supply until compliance (s 40(2), s 42(1)).
Liability for obstructions and damages: occupiers who fail to provide access gates may incur undertakers’ costs (s 17(4)-(7)); persons damaging the undertaking face criminal fines and may be ordered to pay value of damaged property (s 69(1), (10)).
Limited procedural rights: claims for compensation must be preferred in writing stating particulars (s 20(2)); disputes may proceed under Land Acquisition Act procedures or be litigated as minor civil claims if that category applies (s 20(4)). A person liable for rates/charges can apply to the Minister for review and the Minister may vary rates/charges (s 56).
Enforcement and remedial powers:
Cut‑off powers: undertakers can cut off supply for specified breaches (s 29(1)-(2)) and for non‑payment after 24 hours’ notice (s 57). Also, unauthorised drawing can attract fines and the court can order discontinuance for specified periods (s 69(6B)-(6C), s 73).
By‑law enforcement: by‑laws can be enforced by water cut‑off, fines or imprisonment for repeat contraventions (ss 46-47).
Statutory charges: unpaid amounts may be enforced as charges on land under Local Government Act mechanisms (ss 48(4)(c), 51(2), 55).
Administrative penalties: authorised officers may issue infringement notices for unauthorised taking under s 69(6A), as set out in the Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act model (s 71), with payments into the Public Account (s 72).
Criminal penalties: s 69 contains fines and daily fines for specified conduct, with varying maxima dependent on the subsection and offence history.
Compensation rights:
Persons with lawful interests in affected land have a right to compensation for injurious affection unless excluded (s 20(1)). Claims must be lodged with specified particulars and time limits (s 20(2)-(3)). Disputed claims proceed under the Land Acquisition Act 1993 or in the Magistrates Court if a minor claim (s 20(4)).
These duties and rights create a system where operational discretion is largely with the undertakers but strategic or rights‑expanding choices are made by the Minister (with Treasurer input in the industrial supply context), and statutory enforcement options range from administrative notices to criminal sanction and property charges.
Penalties and enforcement
Penalties in the Act operate through three channels: criminal fines (and in some cases imprisonment), administrative monetary penalties via infringement notices, and non‑financial administrative measures (cut‑offs, work‑orders, recovery of costs as charges on land).
Criminal offences and fines:
Section 69 lists many criminal offences with stated maxima. For example: destroying or injuring any part of the undertaking (s 69(1)) attracts a fine up to 5 penalty units; drawing water contrary to an order after service attracts a fine up to 1 penalty unit plus one cent per litre (s 69(2)); fouling, bathing in sources or wasting water can attract fines up to 5 penalty units (s 69(3)); supplying water to others or unauthorised connecting or interfering with works can attract fines up to 5 penalty units and daily fines after 24 hours’ notice (s 69(5)); permitting drainage to render water unwholesome attracts fines up to 2 penalty units plus daily fines after notice (s 69(9)).
Some by‑law contraventions carry imprisonment for repeat offences: breaches of determinations under s 47(2) may for a subsequent offence attract up to 3 penalty units or imprisonment up to 6 months (s 47(4)).
Administrative monetary penalties and infringement notices:
Part XI (inserted 1997) provides a simplified infringement scheme for unauthorised taking under s 69(6A). Authorised officers may serve an irrigation infringement notice modelled on the Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act 2005 (s 71(1)-(2)). The prescribed penalties are graduated per irrigation season: 0.5 penalty unit first offence; 1.5 penalty units second offence; 2.5 penalty units third or subsequent offence (s 71(3)). Payments are to be paid into the Public Account (s 72).
On acceptance or service of an infringement notice, undertakers may discontinue water supply for set periods (s 73): three days for a first notice, one week for second, two weeks for third or subsequent.
Administrative non‑monetary enforcement:
Cut‑off of supply is a repeated enforcement tool: undertakers can cut supply by turning off valves, plugging pipes, stopping flow into channels, or by order under their seal (s 29(1)). An order suspends any right to supply during its currency (s 29(2)).
Undertakers may cut off supply for inspections hindered, waste or misuse, for failure to install cisterns, to maintain channels, or to prevent waste or contamination (ss 40(2), 42(1), 44, 45).
For non‑payment, after 24 hours’ notice undertakers may cut off supply and recover expenses as provided for recovery of rates (s 57).
Property and civil enforcement:
Charges and rates due under the Act are statutory charges upon land and enforceable in the same manner as local government rates (s 48(4)(c); s 51(2); s 55). Construction charges can be levied and, in some circumstances, refunded if supply does not eventuate (s 54).
The undertakers have a charge on land for various money due (s 55(1)), which creates a security interest that can be enforced against the land in similar fashion to local government charges.
Procedural enforcement safeguards and dispute pathways:
Claims for compensation for injurious affection must be made in writing and disputes go to the Land Acquisition Act processes (s 20(2), (4)); minor civil claims may be heard in the Magistrates Court where applicable (s 20(4)(a)). The Minister may review rates and charges following application and can reduce them for impropriety or unreasonable excess; determinations may be registered in Supreme Court and enforced as judgments (s 56).
Meter readings are conclusive absent prescribed error test results, with correction rules if an error is proven (s 38); but these provisions apply only where by‑laws permit meter regimes (s 38(5)).
Who enforces:
Undertakers themselves carry primary enforcement power for many breaches through cut‑off and by‑law enforcement (ss 46-47, 29, 57).
Authorised officers appointed by undertakers may serve infringement notices (s 70-71).
Ministerial directions and orders (s 23(3D)-(3E), s 24A(5)) may be enforced administratively, and the Minister’s determinations about rates can be registered as Court judgments (s 56(3)).
Monetary units and practical scale:
The Act uses penalty units as the measure for fines. Several offences carry relatively modest maxima (fractions of a unit for some highway reinstatement defaults in s 14), while others reach up to 5 or even 10 penalty units for specified conduct (s 69(7)). The graduated infringement penalty regime for unauthorised taking is modest (0.5-2.5 penalty units) but coupled with supply discontinuance (s 73).
Interaction of enforcement tools:
Enforcement can proceed simultaneously via property charges, cut‑offs, and criminal prosecution; s 14(2) and other provisions prevent duplication of remedies in limited circumstances but generally allow multiple remedies. Undertakers may both penalise and seek civil recompense (s 69(10) authorises courts to order payment equal to the value of damaged property in addition to penalties).
Overall, the Act provides a mixed enforcement toolkit favouring rapid administrative remedies (cut‑offs and infringement notices) to protect supplies and infrastructure, supported by subsidy‑style property charges and criminal sanctions for serious or wilful harms.
How it interacts with other laws
The Act is heavily cross‑referenced to other Tasmanian statutory regimes and to the particular “special Act” that incorporates it into a waterworks authorisation. The primary interactions are procedural and substantive.
Key cross‑referenced statutes and mechanisms:
Special Act: The Irrigation Clauses Act applies only to undertakings authorised by a special Act that expressly incorporates it; where the special Act varies the provisions, the special Act’s terms prevail (s 3). Every application of the Act is therefore bounded by the extant special Act.
Land Acquisition Act 1993: Compulsory acquisition powers in s 5 are subject to the Land Acquisition Act 1993. Compensation disputes and reconveyance procedures rely on that Act (ss 5-6, 20(4), 63(3), 66(2)). The Act repeatedly delegates valuation and disputed claim resolution to Land Acquisition Act mechanisms (s 20(4)).
Local Government Act 1993: By‑laws, enforcement, and the mode for charging and recovering rates often mirror or refer directly to the Local Government Act procedures (ss 2 definitions re “clerk” and “municipality” as council, ss 46-47 ly on Local Government Act authority, ss 48(4)(c), 51(2), 55 refer to Division 9 of Part 9 of the Local Government Act 1993 for enforcement of charges).
Water Management Act 1999: Section 24 cross‑refers to the Water Management Act 1999 when addressing domestic rights and declared supply channels (s 24(2)-(4)). Section 24A(2) refers to applications approved under s 176 of the Water Management Act 1999 in relation to consultation requirements before industrial declarations in districts where rights have not been granted.
Water and Sewerage Industry Act 2008: Section 2A(4)(c) excludes from “industrial use” supplies used by entities regulated under the Water and Sewerage Industry Act 2008. Section 24(2) also contemplates regulated entities under that Act receiving rights.
Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act 2005: Part XI’s infringements are to be in accordance with s 14 of the Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act 2005 (s 71(2)), integrating the State’s monetary penalty enforcement processes.
Acts Interpretation Act 1931: Orders and Ministerial instruments (for example s 2A(3), s 75(3)) are subject to disallowance under s 47 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1931, which provides parliamentary oversight of subordinate instruments.
Operational implications of these interactions:
Enforcement and recovery often use Local Government Act procedures. Charges under the Act are enforced as if the undertakers were municipalities (s 48(4)(c), s 55(2)), so recovery and priority on land will follow those local government mechanisms. Practitioners must check how those procedures operate in practice for sale, enforcement and priority.
Compensation pathways are oriented to the Land Acquisition Act. This imports the Land Acquisition Act’s valuation, objection, review and appeal routes into disputes under this Act, potentially extending timelines and requiring knowledge of compulsory acquisition processes.
Industrial supply changes are not self‑executing. Ministerial declarations under s 24A must be made, and s 24A(2)-(4) prescribes mandatory consultations (Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, rights holders, TasWater) depending on whether a district is newly approved or operational. The Treasurer must agree to any declaration (s 24A(5)(b)), creating a fiscal gate.
Contracts under s 24B displace some statutory protections and enforcement parts: Parts VI (Protection of Water) and XI (Irrigation infringement notices) do not apply to persons or land in relation to which a contract is entered (s 24B(5)). Also undertakers who have entered into industrial contracts must not make by‑laws, levy rates or charge under Part VII in relation to supply under that contract (s 24B(6)). This carve‑out creates a legal discontinuity between contract‑supplied water and bulk regulated supplies and requires contract drafters to incorporate protections otherwise supplied by the Act.
Registers and Ministerial oversight: s 23(3D)-(3E) enables the Minister to specify register content and format, and to require undertakers to produce copies; failure to comply is penalised. That places an administrative compliance burden on undertakers beyond their internal record keeping and links data production to Ministerial regulation.
Privacy/national security: maps and plans are to be deposited with municipal officers and open to inspection (ss 58-59) but the Governor may prohibit disclosure on national security grounds (s 60). Practitioners should note the tension between public inspection rights and potential security exclusions.
Because the Act embeds references to multiple external statutes and confers power to the Minister and Treasurer in specific areas (notably industrial supply), practical compliance requires checking the cross‑applicable parts of the referenced Acts and the special Act that incorporates the Irrigation Clauses Act for each undertaking.
Amendment history
The source text is annotated with multiple amendments and insertions across decades. The amendments that materially change structure or policy are listed in the Act’s annotations; the following highlights show where the Act has been updated and how those updates altered mechanics:
1973 original and early amendments: the Act originates in 1973 (short title, s 1). Various early amendments adjusted rating and construction provisions (annotation to s 48 referencing No. 75 of 1973).
1993 (No. 24 of 1993): Amended compulsory acquisition and reconveyance mechanics (ss 5-6) to integrate the Land Acquisition Act 1993; also made other adjustments referenced across the text (multiple annotations).
1994 (No. 67 of 1994): Amended offences and penalties (s 69) and other procedural subsections (annotations to ss 35, 47), introducing or updating penalty scales and enforcement language.
1997 (No. 46 of 1997): Major structural insertions and substitutions: defined “authorised officer”, updated irrigation rights provisions (ss 2, 23), introduced transfer mechanisms (s 23A), inserted Part XI (ss 70-73) creating the irrigation infringement notice scheme, and added by‑law modifications. Many subsections were substituted or added in November 1998 application. These 1997 changes are pivotal as they created an administrative infringement pathway and clarified registration, by‑law, and transfer mechanisms.
1999 (No. 45 of 1999): Replaced extensive parts (s 56 substituted) and repealed some sections earlier. Introduced the Ministerial moderation route for rates and charges (s 56 substituted by No. 45 of 1999).
2001 (No. 30/21 of 2001): Adjusted irrigation rights detail and the transfer provisions, including consent requirements for transfers (s 23 amendments; s 23A amendments).
2003 (No. 9 and No. 53): Amendments affected penalties and definitions; s 2 noted substitution; s 69 adjustments. No. 53 amended “minor civil claim” definition (s 2).
2004 (No. 12 of 2004): Omitted certain subsections from s 23 and s 23A, reflecting administrative streamlining.
2005 (No. 30 of 2005): Substituted s 24 (domestic rights), and inserted s 75 for River Clyde orders (s 75 inserted by No. 30 of 2005).
2007 & 2008 (No. 72 of 2007; No. 56 of 2008; No. 36 of 2023 later): Implemented changes to the infringement procedure model (s 71 amended to align with Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act), adjusted registers, and added industrial supply machinery (later in 2023).
2008-2009 (No. 56 of 2008; No. 52 of 2008): Introduced register obligations (s 23(3B)-(3E)) and clarified domestic supply declarations in relation to the Water Management Act 1999 (s 24).
2010 (No. 21 of 2010): Further amendments to s 23 around non‑occupier rights and to s 48(3)(b) and s 31(1).
2017 (No. 4 of 2017): Amended s 72 (payments into Public Account) applied 2019.
2023 (No. 36 of 2023): Significant recent suite of amendments: inserted s 2A (meaning of industrial use, including hydrogen production and associated processes), amended definitions to add “industrial user”, added s 24A (ministerial declaration in relation to supply for industrial use) and s 24B (contracting for industrial supply), and amended distribution rules (s 25) and s 9 (purchase of water) to address industrial use. These changes materially add an industrial supply pathway and require Minister/Treasurer involvement and specified consultations.
The Act’s annotations therefore reflect an evolution from a primarily agricultural irrigation statute to a more complex instrument that accommodates industrial water supply (including hydrogen production), ministerial oversight and register obligations, and a layered enforcement apparatus (infringement notices, by‑laws, and traditional criminal sanctions). For precise amendment text and dates, the source’s inline annotations and schedule references identify the amending instrument and the date of application for each insertion or substitution.
Litigation history
The source document provided contains no references to case law, judgments, or specific litigation outcomes. It does, however, design procedures that create litigation pathways and judicial involvement in particular contexts:
Compensation disputes: s 20(4) expressly refers disputes to be determined as if they were disputed claims under the Land Acquisition Act 1993, thereby importing that Act’s adjudicative pathway and potential judicial review in the Supreme Court. Section 6 also authorises reconveyance where undertakers consider compensation determined by the Land Acquisition Act inappropriate, subject to section 23 of the Land Acquisition Act, which carries legal-process consequences.
Magistrates Court jurisdiction for minor civil claims: s 20(4)(a) permits minor civil claims to be heard in Magistrates Court where applicable, providing a low‑cost forum for certain holders.
Ministerial determinations: s 56 provides that a Minister’s determination upon review of rates can be registered in the Supreme Court and enforced as a judgment, which is a judicial enforcement enactment for administrative decisions.
Mining disputes: ss 63-66 provide statutory processes for disputes where mining operations and the undertaking conflict, including notice, inspection, and valuation procedures referable to Land Acquisition Act dispute processes.
Because the Act does not cite specific cases in its text, and no judicial interpretation is included in the source, there is no litigation history recorded within the Act itself. Practitioners should therefore research external judicial decisions and administrative determinations on the application of this Act, the Land Acquisition Act 1993 processes, and the interaction with the Local Government Act 1993 and Water Management Act 1999 for precedents on compensation, enforcement and the scope of undertaker powers.
Gotchas
The Act contains several provisions that create practical traps or require careful drafting and operational control. The following are concrete, source‑grounded “watch‑outs”:
Dual regimes and carve‑outs for industrial contracts: Once a Ministerial declaration is made (s 24A) and a s 24B contract is entered, Parts VI (Protection of Water) and XI (Irrigation infringement notices) do not apply to the person or land subject to the contract (s 24B(5)). Additionally undertakers who have entered s 24B contracts must not make by‑laws, levy rates or charge under Part VII in relation to that contract (s 24B(6)). That means a supply may be placed outside the Act’s usual quality/protection/enforcement architecture by contract. Parties must therefore ensure the contract contains the protections (quality, meter regimes, remedies) that the Act would otherwise supply.
Minister/Treasurer gates and consultation obligations for industrial use: The Minister cannot make an industrial declaration (s 24A) without consultation with enumerated stakeholders depending on the district’s status (s 24A(2)-(4)), and must be satisfied no detriment to other rights will result (s 24A(5)(a)). The Treasurer must agree to the declaration (s 24A(5)(b)). Expect political and fiscal checks and potentially protracted consultation before industrial supply proceeds.
Registers and Ministerial copy/delivery obligations: Undertakers must keep registers of irrigation rights (s 23(3B)-(3C)) and comply with Ministerial notices to deliver copies in particular formats (s 23(3D)-(3E)). Non‑compliance is a fine up to 5 penalty units (s 23(3E)). Undertakers should adopt compliance processes for data formatting and timely production.
Cut‑off powers without prior judicial process: Undertakers can cut off water for many compliance breaches (ss 29, 40(2), 42(1), 44-45, 57). Those powers are immediate administrative remedies and can be used before civil or criminal process. Clients should build operational procedures for issuing notices, documenting cause, and reinstatement steps to avoid wrongful cut‑off risk.
Meter evidence rules depend on by‑laws: The conclusive evidentiary effect of meter readings and the correction formula when errors are found applies only while by‑laws enabling meter regimes are in force (s 38(5)). If undertakers rely on meters, by‑laws must authorise the meter regime and define testing protocols; otherwise evidentiary disputes will be more complex.
Transfer consent and financial‑interest sign‑offs: Transfers of irrigation rights require undertaker approval and written evidence that each person with a financial interest consents to the transfer (s 23A(1), (4)). A transfer without required consents risks being refused or subject to challenge. Short‑term transfers under 12 months and same‑person transfers are exceptions (s 23A(5)(a-b)).
Industrial supply can be supplied outside the water district: s 24B(3) allows supply under contract to land outside the water district. That expands construction and rights exposure under Part II (s 24B(4)). Undertakers must ensure they have lawful authority and plan for the exercise of construction and entry powers beyond the district limits.
Overlapping charges and the Local Government Act procedure: Claims, charges and recoveries are enforced as if the undertakers were municipalities (ss 48(4)(c), 55). Practitioners must ensure compliance with Local Government Act processes and timing and verify priority interests.
National security disclosure restriction: maps that are otherwise open to inspection may be withheld by the Governor on national security grounds (s 60), potentially complicating title and planning enquiries by third parties relying on public access to barrier maps (ss 58-59).
Differences between “industrial use” and other uses: s 2A excludes supplies “principally for irrigation” and “principally for hydro‑electricity” from industrial use. The Minister may, however, by order declare other uses to be industrial within a district (s 2A(2)). Determining whether a supply is industrial therefore may require factual assessment and possibly Ministerial order.
Ministerial direction can effectively override undertaker commercial choices: The Minister can require the register and specify formats and demand copies from undertakers (s 23(3D)), and the Minister’s declaration activates the industrial contracting pathway (s 24A). Undertakers must therefore keep channels of communication with the Minister’s office and ensure administrative records meet Ministerial requirements.
These “gotchas” arise directly from the Act’s text and show where operational or transaction planning must be calibrated to statutory requirements.
How to comply
Compliance requires separating statutory obligations by actor (undertakers, occupiers/holders, industrial users, and the Ministerially required consultees) and building administrative processes. The following are concrete, source‑grounded compliance steps:
For undertakers
Document the special Act integration: confirm the special Act that incorporates the Irrigation Clauses Act and any express variations (s 3). Map the special Act’s limits and any express modifications to the Clauses Act provisions (s 2 definition of “the limits of the special Act”).
Land acquisition and compensation workflows: adopt Land Acquisition Act‑consistent acquisition procedures (s 5) and compensation claim processes per s 20(2) (prefer claims in writing with address, act occasioning damage, nature and amount, and title). Ensure readiness to proceed to Land Acquisition Act dispute resolution mechanisms (s 20(4)).
Notices and access: implement standard notice templates and service procedures: 7 clear days’ notice for breaking highways (s 11), 3 or 7 days’ notice for entries on private land (s 17(2)-(3)), 2 days’ notice for persons connecting private channels (s 32(2)), and 24 hours’ notice for inspection of mines (s 67).
Construction and reinstatement controls: have project plans that show prompt completion and reinstatement (s 13) and budget for potential penalties for delay (s 14) and for costs recoverable by highway authorities (s 15).
Metering and testing regime: make by‑laws to authorise metering, testing regimes, fees and error thresholds (s 38(5), s 47(1)(e)); maintain meters in accurate working order (s 38(1)); cap meter charges consistent with s 33(4) and record attachment and removal events (ss 33-37).
Registers and Ministerial compliance: create register systems for irrigation rights and, if relevant, for industrial contracts in the format required by s 23(3C)-(3E) and s 24A(5)(d)(iii). Put in place procedures to produce copies to the Minister within time frames in any Ministerial notice and to publish required register information publicly if required under s 24A(5)(d)(iii).
By‑law governance and posting: where making by‑laws, obtain required approvals (s 46(1)) and publish in the Gazette and post locally (s 46(2)-(3)); ensure by‑laws cover meter testing, channels, use restrictions and penalties (s 47(1)(a)-(f)).
Billing and recovery: determine water rates pre season (s 48(2)), charge irrigation right holders on the first day of the season (s 48(3)) and implement recovery processes consistent with Local Government Act enforcement (s 48(4)(c), s 51(2), s 55). Provide 24 hours’ notice before stopping supply for non‑payment (s 57).
Quality and protection management: develop cistern specifications, audit programs and inspection protocols to detect waste, misuse or contamination and to enact cut‑off only when statutory triggers occur (ss 40-45).
Contract drafting for industrial supply: if contracting under s 24B, ensure the contract addresses the protections otherwise supplied by Parts VI and XI because those Parts will not apply to contract‑covered persons/land (s 24B(5)). Include surety, volume, testing, quality, dispute resolution and register reporting obligations compatible with s 24A(5)(d)(i)-(iii). Remember undertakers who contract may not levy Part VII charges in relation to that contract (s 24B(6)).
Data and map management: ensure maps/plans are surveyed and updated within 6 months of works (s 58(1)), deposit copies with municipal clerks within 3 months of updates (s 59(1)), and implement inspection fee collection and recordkeeping (s 59(2)). Monitor possible Governor restrictions (s 60).
For occupiers, owners and irrigation right holders
Claiming compensation: lodge compensation claims in writing with the details required by s 20(2) and adhere to the 6‑month limit if the undertakers have served a notice requiring a claim (s 20(3)).
Meter and channel maintenance: comply with by‑laws about channel construction (s 41), maintain channels in repair (s 42), protect meters (s 39), and provide gates where required (s 17(4)-(7)). Failure risks cut‑off (s 42).
Rates and payments: pay irrigation charges in accordance with the rate fixed before the season (s 48(2)-(3)), and be aware that unpaid amounts can be enforced as land charges (s 48(4)(c), s 55).
Transfers and transfers‑related consent: to transfer irrigation rights, obtain transfers with undertaker approval and secure consents from all persons with a financial interest (s 23A(1), (4)). For short‑term or same‑person transfers, confirm whether s 23A(5) exclusions apply.
For industrial users and relevant water retailers
Declaration threshold: confirm that the Minister has made an industrial declaration under s 24A(1) for the water district before negotiating a s 24B contract (s 24B(2)).
Contract safeguards: where a contract will put a person or land outside Parts VI and XI (s 24B(5)), ensure contractual protections for quality, meter testing, enforcement and dispute resolution that would otherwise be supplied by the Act. Expect the Minister to possibly require minimum contract matters (s 24A(5)(d)(i)).
Public registers and transparency: under s 24A(5)(d)(iii) the Minister may require undertakers to keep a publicly available register of all contracts for industrial supply; verify whether such a requirement has been imposed and account for commercial confidentiality concerns.
For ministers and public decision makers
Consultation obligations: before making or varying industrial declarations consult with specified groups (Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, existing rights holders and TasWater) depending on the district’s state (s 24A(2)-(4)).
Treasurer agreement: any industrial declaration must have the Treasurer’s agreement (s 24A(5)(b)), instituting central fiscal oversight.
Recordkeeping, governance and audit
Establish document management and audit trails for notices, meter readings, registers and maps to satisfy evidentiary rules (s 38), Ministerial copy requirements (s 23(3D)), and dispute processes under the Land Acquisition Act (s 20).
Implement legal review of by‑laws, as they become enforceable following Gazette publication and may include criminal penalties (s 46(3), s 47(4)-(5)).
In sum, compliance is both operational (works, meters, maps, maintenance) and administrative (registers, by‑laws, rates, Minister/Treasurer consents). Parties should map statutory triggers in their operational workflows and ensure contracts either sit within or explicitly supplement the statutory apparatus where the Act’s carve‑outs apply.
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 30 of 2005, s. 14, Applied:11 Jul 2005]
irrigation right
section 23
section 75(1)
irrigation season means the annual period during which under the undertaker's by-laws water will be available for irrigation;
lake includes swamp, pond, dam, and well;
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 53 of 2003, Sched. 1, Applied:25 Sep 2003]minor civil claim means a minor civil claim within the meaning of the Magistrates Court (Civil Division) Act 1992 ;
municipality means a council;
prescribed means prescribed by by-law;
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 36 of 2023, s. 4, Applied:11 Dec 2023]relevant water retailer means an entity that, as part of the business of the entity, sells, or proposes to sell, water to an industrial user;
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 46 of 1997, s. 4, Applied:11 Nov 1998][Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 53 of 2003, Sched. 1, Applied:25 Sep 2003]
source of supply means any place or point from which the undertakers are by the special Act authorized to take water for the purposes of the special Act;
stream includes spring, brook, river, and other running water;
take, used in relation to water, includes divert and hold back;
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 45 of 1999, Sched. 6, Applied:01 Jan 2000]
the limits of the special Act, if not specified in the special Act, means –
(a) the water district;
(b) the vicinity of the source of the supply;
(c) any lands supplied with water under section 26 ; and
(d) any lands required for –
(i) bringing water from the source of supply into the water district;
(ii) bringing water from one part of the water district to another;
(iii) bringing water to lands referred to in paragraph (c) ; or
(iv) discharging surplus or drainage water from the water district;
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 52 of 2008, Sched. 1, Applied:01 Jul 2009]the special Act means any Act authorizing the construction of waterworks with which this Act or any part thereof is incorporated;
the undertakers means the persons authorized by the special Act to construct the waterworks;
the undertaking means the waterworks, and all works, engines, buildings, channels, and other accessories connected therewith authorized by the special Act to be constructed, laid, installed, or maintained by the undertakers for the purposes of the special Act ;
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 46 of 1997, s. 4, Applied:11 Nov 1998][Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 6 of 2008, Sched. 1, Applied:28 Apr 2008]water district means the irrigation water district defined by or under the special Act.
[Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 46 of 1997, s. 4, Applied:11 Nov 1998][Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 6 of 2008, Sched. 1, Applied:28 Apr 2008]
(2) For the purposes of this Act –
(a) a power to supply water includes a power –
(i) to discharge surplus or drainage water; and
(ii) to drain land of irrigation water; and
(b) a power given to undertakers to enter land or to do works on land includes a power to do so with or by officers, servants, workmen, and agents and with vehicles, wheeled and tracked.
2A Meaning of industrial use
2A Meaning of industrial use
[Section 2A Inserted by No. 36 of 2023, s. 5, Applied:11 Dec 2023]
(1) In this Act, the following uses of water are industrial use:
(a) using water for industrial purposes related to the production of hydrogen;
(b) using water for –
(i) fabricating, processing, washing, diluting, cooling, or transporting, a product; or
(ii) wastewater treatment associated with the processes specified in subparagraph (i) ; or
(iii) generating electricity for use in the processes specified in subparagraph (i) –
where the supply of that water is incidental or auxiliary to the supply of water provided for industrial purposes related to the production of hydrogen.
(2) In addition to the uses specified in subsection (1) , if water is supplied to a water district for industrial purposes related to the production of hydrogen, the Minister may declare, by order, that another use of the water within that water district is an industrial use.
(3) If an order is made under subsection (2) , the Minister must cause a copy of the order to be laid before each House of Parliament within 14 sitting-days of that House after the date on which the order is made, and the order is subject to disallowance under section 47 of theActs Interpretation Act 1931 as if it were a regulation.
(4) For the purposes of this Act, the following uses are not industrial use:
(a) the supply or use of water that is principally for irrigation purposes;
(b) the supply or use of water that is principally for the generation of hydro-electricity;
(c) the supply or use of water by a regulated entity within the meaning of the Water and Sewerage Industry Act 2008 for the purposes of that Act.
3 Incorporation with special Act
3 Incorporation with special Act
This Act shall extend to all undertakings authorized by any Act which declares that this Act is incorporated therewith, or which is declared by some Act to have this Act incorporated therewith; and all the sections of this Act, save so far as they are expressly varied or excepted by any such Act, shall apply to the undertaking thereby authorized, so far as they are applicable to that undertaking, and shall, with the sections of every other Act which is incorporated therewith, form part of any such Act, and shall be construed therewith as forming one Act.
Part II Construction of Waterworks
Part II Construction of Waterworks
4 Acquisition and disposal of property
4 Acquisition and disposal of property
The undertakers may, upon such terms and conditions as they consider desirable, purchase, take on lease, hire, or otherwise acquire any land, goods, interest, or right required by them for the purposes of the special Act and may dispose of them, if no longer required, to any person and in any manner.
5 Compulsory acquisition of land
5 Compulsory acquisition of land
(1) *[Section 5 Subsection (1) amended by No. 24 of 1993, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*The undertakers may purchase or take any lands or any estate or interest therein which they may require for the purposes of the special Act .
(2) *[Section 5 Subsection (2) inserted by No. 24 of 1993, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*The Land Acquisition Act 1993 applies in relation to the acquisition of any land or any estate or interest in land, and any land, estate or interest acquired, by the undertakers under subsection (1) .
6 Reconveyance of certain land taken
6 Reconveyance of certain land taken
*[Section 6 Substituted by No. 24 of 1993, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*Where –
(a) any land, estate or interest in land has been taken under section 5 ; and
(b) compensation has been determined in the manner of a disputed claim for compensation under the Land Acquisition Act 1993 ; and
(c) the undertakers consider it inappropriate to pay the amount of compensation so determined –
the undertakers may reconvey the land, estate or interest in accordance with, and subject to, section 23 of that Act notwithstanding that the period specified in subsection (1) of that section has expired.
7 Power to enter on land and construct works, &c.
7 Power to enter on land and construct works, &c.
The undertakers may –
(a) sink such wells or shafts, construct, maintain, lay down, alter, and discontinue such reservoirs, embankments, cisterns, tanks, aqueducts, drains, cuts, sluices, channels, mains, culverts, engines, and other works, appliances, and buildings upon the lands, streams, and lakes authorized to be taken by them, as may be necessary to provide a supply of water for any of the purposes of the special Act ;
(b) for the purpose of constructing, inspecting, maintaining, altering, relaying, or discontinuing any such works, appliances, or buildings, enter upon any lake, or stream, or the beds and banks thereof, and upon any lands, and there take levels and set out works as the undertakers think necessary;
(c) dig, cut, trench, and break up the soil of any such land, and remove all earth, stones, trees, and other things dug or obtained out of the same, and use such materials in the construction or maintenance of any of the works authorized by the special Act ; and
(d) for the purpose of exercising any of the powers conferred by this section, enter into such contracts as the undertakers may deem advisable.
8.
[Section 8 Subsection (2) amended by No. 24 of 1993, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ][Section 8 Repealed by No. 45 of 1999, Sched. 6, Applied:01 Jan 2000]
9 Purchase of water
9 Purchase of water
[Section 9 Amended by No. 36 of 2023, s. 6, Applied:11 Dec 2023] For the purposes of the special Act , or in relation to a contract entered into under section 24B in relation to industrial use, the undertakers may buy water in bulk from any water authority or other person.
10 Power to break up highways, open drains, and lay pipes
10 Power to break up highways, open drains, and lay pipes
The undertakers, under such superintendence as is specified in section 12 , may open and break up the soil and pavement of any highway or bridge within the limits of the special Act , and may open and break up any sewers, drains, or tunnels within or under such highways and bridges, and make, lay down and place within those limits channels, service pipes, and other works and engines, and repair, alter, or remove them, and for those purposes remove and use all earth and materials in and under such highways and bridges, and do all other acts that the undertakers deem necessary for the purposes of the special Act .
11 Notice to be given before breaking up highways or opening drains
11 Notice to be given before breaking up highways or opening drains
Before the undertakers open or break up any highway, bridge, sewer, drain, or tunnel, they shall give to the persons under whose control or management those things are, or to their clerk, surveyor, or other officer, notice in writing of their intention to open or break them up, not less than 7 clear days before beginning the work, except in cases of emergency arising from defects in any of the channels or other works, and then so soon as is possible after the beginning of the work or the necessity for it has arisen.
12 Highways, &c., not to be broken up except under superintendence of persons controlling them
12 Highways, &c., not to be broken up except under superintendence of persons controlling them
(1) No highway, bridge, sewer, drain, or tunnel may, except in the cases of emergency mentioned in section 11 , be opened or broken up except under the superintendence of the persons having the control or management thereof, or of their officer, and according to a plan approved by those persons or their officer, or in case of any difference respecting the plan, then according to a plan determined by any 2 justices.
(2) The justices may, on the application of the persons having the control or management of any such sewer or drain, or their officer, require the undertakers to make such temporary or other works as he or they may think necessary for guarding against any interruption of the drainage during the execution of works that interfere with any such sewer or drain.
(3) If the persons having such control or management, and their officer,
This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.