Jersey Law 15/1972
WATER (JERSEY) LAW, 1972,
SANCTIONED BY
Order of Her Majesty in
Council
dated 27th April, 1972.
____________
(Registered on 26th
May, 1972).
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ARRANGEMENT OF
ARTICLES
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Article
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PART I
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INTRODUCTORY
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1.
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Interpretation
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PART II
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POWERS OF THE COMPANY
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2.
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Works in connexion with roads
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3.
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Laying of pipes in land not in public ownership
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4.
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Vesting of communication pipes
and repair of such pipes and of supply pipes in roads
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5.
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Power to survey, and search for water on, land
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6.
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Power of Company to acquire land compulsorily
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PART III
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SUPPLY OF WATER FOR
DOMESTIC OR NON-DOMESTIC PURPOSES
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7.
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Supply of water for domestic purposes
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8.
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Constancy and pressure of supply
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9.
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Sufficiency and wholesomeness of water
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10.
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Supply of water for non-domestic purposes
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PART IV
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SUPPLY OF WATER FOR
FIRE-FIGHTING PURPOSES
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11.
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Amendment of Fire Service (Jersey) Law, 1959
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PART V
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WATER RATES
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12.
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Liability for, and recovery of, water rates
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13.
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Notices of cutting off of water supply to inhabited
house
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14.
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Power of States in connexion with
water rates and charges
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PART VI
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CONSERVATION AND
PROTECTION OF WATER RESOURCES
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15.
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Control of abstraction and prevention of waste
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16.
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Power to prohibit or restrict
temporarily use of water for non-essential purposes
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17.
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Bye-laws for preventing waste,
misuse or contamination of water
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18.
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Bye-laws for protecting against
pollution any water of the Company
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19.
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Penalty for polluting water
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PART VII
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CERTAIN POWERS OF
COMMITTEE
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20.
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Power to instruct Company to
carry out surveys and make reports
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21.
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Default powers of Committee
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22.
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Company’s accounts
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PART VIII
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GENERAL
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23.
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False information
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24.
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Penalties for offences
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25.
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Entry on land
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26.
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Documents to be in writing
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27.
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Authentication of documents
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28.
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Service of documents
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29.
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Proof of resolutions, etc.
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30.
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Duty of the Company to give notice of certain works
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31.
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Bye-laws
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32.
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Orders
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33.
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Short title and commencement
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WATER (JERSEY) LAW, 1972.
____________
A LAW to
give certain powers to, and impose certain obligations on, the Jersey New
Waterworks Company Limited, to make provisions in relation to the conservation
and prevention of pollution of water, to amend the Fire Service (Jersey) Law,
1959 and to provide for ancillary matters, sanctioned by Order of Her Majesty
in Council of the
28th day of APRIL, 1972.
____________
(Registered on the 26th day of
May, 1972).
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STATES OF JERSEY.
____________
The 1st day of
February, 1972.
____________
WHEREAS the Jersey New Waterworks Company
Limited (hereinafter referred to as “the Company” was registered as
a Limited Liability Company by Act of the Royal Court on the 11th day of
February, 1882 in accordance with the provisions of the “Loi (1861) sur
les Sociétés à Responsabilité
Limitée”;
WHEREAS the Company
has since that date undertaken the collection, treatment and supply of water
for domestic and other purposes in parts of the Island;
WHEREAS the scope of
the Company’s undertaking has increased and is still increasing;
WHEREAS the powers,
rights, privileges and obligations of the Company are neither established nor
governed by statutory authority;
WHEREAS the supply
of water is an enterprise of public utility;
AND WHEREAS it is in
the public interest, for better regulating the provision of a supply of water
in the Island, that certain additional powers be granted to the Company, on
conditions safeguarding the rights of the public and that certain obligations
be imposed on the Company;
THE STATES subject
to the sanction of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the
following Law: -
PART I
INTRODUCTORY
ARTICLE 1
INTERPRETATION
(1) In
this Law, unless the context otherwise requires: -
“building” includes a part of a building if that part
is separately occupied;
“the Committee” means the Public Works Committee;
“communication pipe” means –
(a) where
premises supplied with water abut on a part of a road in which a main is laid,
and a service pipe enters those premises otherwise than through the outer wall
of a building abutting on the road and has a stopcock placed in those premises
and as near to the boundary of that road as is reasonably practicable, so much
of the service pipe as lies between the main and the stopcock;
(b) in
any other case, so much of the service pipe as lies between the main and the
boundary of the road in which the main is laid;
and includes the ferrule at the junction of the service pipe with
the main, and also –
(i) where
the communication pipe ends at a stopcock, that stopcock; and
(ii) any
stopcock fitted on the communication pipe between the end thereof and the main;
“the Company” means the Jersey New Waterworks Company
Limited registered by Act of the Royal Court dated the 11th day of February,
1882 in accordance with the provisions of the “Loi (1861) sur les
Sociétés à Responsabilité Limitée”;
“consumer” means a person supplied, or about to be
supplied, with water by the Company;
“contravention” includes a failure to comply, and
“contravene” shall be construed accordingly;
“cut off”, in relation to a supply of water, means stop
the supply, whether by operating a tap, disconnecting pipes, or otherwise;
“house” means a dwelling-house, whether a private
dwelling-house or not, and includes any part of a building if that part is
occupied as a separate dwelling;
“in”, in a context referring to works in a road or in
land, includes reference to works under, along or on it and, in a context
referring to a sewer, drain or tunnel in a road, includes a reference to one
thereunder;
“land” includes houses, buildings and structures on
land, land covered with water and, in relation to the acquisition of land under
Article 6 of this Law, any interest in land or water and servitudes or rights
in, or over land or water;
“main” means a pipe laid by the Company for the purpose
of providing a general supply of water as distinct from a supply to individual
consumers and includes any apparatus used in connexion with such a pipe;
“occupier” in relation to any land, means the person
having the use of the land;
“owner” in relation to any land, means the person
having the enjoyment of the land, either as owner or usufructuary or in the
exercise of rights of dower, “franc veuvage” or otherwise;
“premises” includes land;
“prescribe” means prescribe by order;
“road” has the same meaning as in the Roads
Administration (Jersey) Law, 1960;
“Royal Court” means the Inferior Number of the Royal
Court;
“service pipe” means so much of any pipe for supplying
water from a main to any premises as is subject to water pressure from that
main, or would be so subject but for the closing of some tap;
“supply of water for domestic purposes” means a
sufficient supply for drinking, washing, cooking and sanitary purposes, but not
for any bath having a capacity (measured to the centre line of the overflow
pipe, or in such other manner as the Company may by bye-laws require) in excess
of fifty gallons and includes –
(a) a
supply for the purposes of a profession carried on in any premises the greater
part whereof is used as a house; and
(b) where
the water is drawn from a tap inside a house and no hosepipe or similar
apparatus is used, a supply for watering a garden, for horses kept for private
use and for washing vehicles so kept;
Provided that it does not include a supply of water for the
business of a laundry or a business of preparing food or beverages for
consumption otherwise than on the premises;
“supply of water in bulk” means a supply of water for
distribution by the person or persons or body taking the supply;
“supply pipe” means so much of any service pipe as is
not a communication pipe;
“trunk main” means a main constructed for the purpose
of conveying water from a source of supply to a filter or reservoir, or from
one filter or reservoir to another filter or reservoir, or for the purpose of
conveying water in bulk from one part of the Island to another part of the
Island or for the purpose of giving or taking a supply of water in bulk;
“water fittings” includes pipes (other than mains),
taps, cocks, valves, ferrules, meters, cisterns, baths, water-closets,
soil-pans and other similar apparatus used in connexion with the supply and use
of water.
(2) Where
any main is laid alongside and within sixty feet of the middle of a road, then,
for the purposes of the foregoing definition of “communication
pipe”, the land in which the main is laid and any land between the main
and the road shall be deemed to form part of that road and references in that
definition to the part of the road in which the main is laid and to the
boundary of the road in which the main is laid shall be construed accordingly;
Provided that, where the premises to be supplied with water lie
between any such main as aforesaid and the road, only that land in which the
main is laid together with any land between the main and those premises shall
be deemed to form part of the road.
(3) References
in this Law to any enactment shall, unless the contest otherwise requires, be
construed as references to that enactment as amended and as extended or applied
by or under any other enactment and as including references to any enactment
repealing and re-enacting that enactment with or without further amendment.
(4) Where
any provision in the Company’s Memorandum of Association or Articles of
Association is inconsistent, or is in conflict, with the provisions of this
Law, the latter shall prevail.
PART II
POWERS OF THE COMPANY
ARTICLE 2
WORKS IN CONNEXION WITH ROADS
(1) Subject
to the provisions of this Law, the Highways (Jersey) Law, 1956 and the Public Utilities Road Works (Jersey) Law,
1963, the Company may, for the purpose of laying,
constructing, inspecting, repairing, renewing or removing trunk mains, mains,
service pipes, plant or other works, break open any road and may remove and use
the soil or other materials in any such road;
Provided that in the exercise of the powers conferred by this
paragraph the Company shall cause as little inconvenience and do as little
damage as possible and shall make good to all bodies and persons interested any
damage done in the exercise of those powers.
(2) All
trunk mains, mains, service pipes, plant or other works which have been laid
down or constructed by the Company in any road prior to the date of the coming
into force of this Law, shall be deemed to have been laid down or constructed
in pursuance of and in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
(3) Paragraph
(2) of Article 1 of the Public Utilities Road Works (Jersey) Law, 19635 shall be
amended by the substitution for the words “gas or electricity” of
the words “gas, water or electricity”.
ARTICLE 3
LAYING OF PIPES IN LAND NOT IN PUBLIC OWNERSHIP
(1) Where
the Company proposes, for the purposes of its undertaking to lay down or
construct any trunk main, main, service pipe, and any apparatus connected with
such a pipe, or any culvert in any land not in public ownership, the Company
shall serve notice of its intention so to do on every owner, lessee and
occupier of that land and such notice shall contain a sufficient description of
the land, shall specify the proposed route or site of the works, shall give
details of any works constructed or proposed to be constructed in the land for
the purpose of the inspection, maintenance and repair of the proposed works and
shall advise the owner, lessee or occupier, as the case may be, of the
provisions of this Article relating to the making of objections and the
claiming of compensation.
(2) Subject
to the provisions of paragraph (7) of this Article, any person who objects to
the terms of a notice served on him by the Company under paragraph (1) of this
Article shall, within 28 days of the date of the notice, deliver to the
Committee a statement in writing of the grounds of his objection and the
Committee, within 28 days of the delivery of the statement and after hearing
the parties, shall, if it is satisfied that the terms of the notice are
reasonable in all the circumstances, confirm the notice or, if it is not so
satisfied, order that the notice be withdrawn, and shall provide each of the
parties with a statement in writing of the reasons for its decision, which
shall be final.
(3) Any
person having an interest in land the value of which is diminished in
consequence of the exercise by the Company of its powers under this Article
shall be entitled to recover compensation from the Company for the diminution.
(4) Where
any interest in land is subject to a hypothec –
(a) any compensation
payable under paragraph (2) of this Article in respect of the diminution in the
value of the interest shall be assessed as if the interest were not subject to
the hypothec;
(b) a claim for any such
compensation may be made by any hypothecary creditor of the interest, but
without prejudice to the making of a claim by the person entitled to the
interest;
(c) a hypothecary creditor
shall not be entitled to claim compensation under the said paragraph in respect
of his interest as such; and
(d) the compensation
payable in respect of the interest subject to the hypothec may be paid by the
Company to such of the claimants as it thinks proper and shall be applied by that
claimant in such manner as the parties interested may agree, or, in default of
such agreement, as may be determined by arbitration.
(5) Any
person who sustains damage by being disturbed in the enjoyment of any right in
or over land in consequence of the exercise by the Company of its powers under
this Article, not being damage which consists of the diminution of the value of
an interest in land, shall be entitled to recover compensation from the Company
in respect of that damage.
(6) For
the purpose of assessing compensation under this Article insofar as it is
payable in respect of the diminution of the value of an interest in land
–
(a) Article 9 of the
Compulsory Purchase of Land (Procedure) (Jersey) Law, 1961, shall, so
far as it is applicable and subject to any necessary modifications, have effect
as it has effect for the purpose of assessing compensation for the compulsory
acquisition of land; and
(b) account shall be taken
of the extent, if any, to which the value of the land has been enhanced by reason
of the construction of the works.
(7) Where
any dispute arises as to the amount of any compensation payable under this
Article, or as to the persons to whom it is payable, the question shall be
referred to and determined by a Board of Arbitrators constituted in accordance
with the provisions of Article 8 of the Compulsory Purchase of Land (Procedure)
(Jersey) Law, 1961 and Articles 10 and 11 of that
Law shall apply in respect of such a reference.
(8) If
no statement of objection is delivered to the Committee within the time
specified in paragraph (2) of this Article or if the Committee confirms the
Company’s notice, the Company may make application to the Royal Court for
an order that the notice be registered in the Public Registry of Contracts and
such registration shall vest in the Company the rights to carry out the works
specified in the notice and to have access thereto by its servants or agents at
all reasonable times for the purpose of inspection, maintenance or repair and a
notice registered as aforesaid shall have like effect to a contract passed
before the Royal Court and the title of the Company shall bear the date of the
order of the Court.
(9) Any
trunk main, main, service pipe, and any apparatus connected with such pipe, or
any culvert laid down or constructed in pursuance of this Article shall be and
shall remain the property of the Company notwithstanding the fact that the land
of which it forms part is not in the ownership of the Company.
(10) Any
trunk main, main, service pipe and any apparatus connected with such pipe, or
any culvert laid down or constructed by the Company for the purposes of its
undertaking prior to the date of the coming into force of this Law in any land
not in public ownership shall be deemed to have been laid down or constructed
under this Article;
Provided that this paragraph shall not extinguish any obligations
of the Company under any agreement with the owner, lessee or occupier of land
in respect of the laying down or construction of any of the aforesaid works in
that land.
ARTICLE 4
VISITING OF COMMUNICATION PIPES AND REPAIR OF SUCH PIPES AND OF
SUPPLY PIPES IN ROADS
(1) All
communication pipes, whether laid before or after the coming into operation of
this Law, shall vest in the Company and the Company shall at its own expense
carry out any necessary works of maintenance, repair or renewal of such pipes
and any work on its mains incidental thereto.
(2) The
Company shall also carry out any such necessary works as aforesaid in the case
of so much of any supply pipe as is laid in a road and may recover the expenses
reasonably incurred by it in so doing as a civil debt from the owner of the
premises supplied by the pipe, but without prejudice to the rights and
obligations as between themselves of the owner and the occupier of the
premises.
(3) If
the Company fails to carry out any such necessary work with all reasonable
despatch after service upon it of complaint of a defect from an owner or
occupier of premises affected, it shall be guilty of an offence.
ARTICLE 5
POWER TO SURVEY, AND SEARCH FOR WATER ON, LAND
(1) Where
the Company wishes to investigate the desirability of acquiring land for any of
the purposes of its undertaking, the Committee may if it thinks fit, on the
application of the Company, authorize the Company to enter on and survey the
land in accordance with the provisions of this Article;
Provided that notice of any such application shall be given by the
Company to the owner and occupier of the land, and the Committee, before giving
its authority under this paragraph, shall consider any representations made to
it, within one month after the receipt of the notice, by any such owner or
occupier.
(2) The
power to survey land conferred by this Article shall include power to carry out
experimental borings or other works for the purpose of ascertaining the nature
of the subsoil or the presence of underground water therein, or the quality or
quantity of such water, and to reinstate the land after carrying out any such
works:
Provided that the Company shall not carry out any works authorized
by this paragraph on land which is occupied unless at least twenty-four
hours’ notice of its intention so to do has been given to the occupier of
the land.
(3) Where
any land on which entry is made in pursuance of this Article is damaged in the
exercise of any power conferred thereby, any person having an interest in the
land may recover compensation in request of that damage from the Company and
where, in consequence of the exercise of such a power, any person is disturbed
in his enjoyment of any right in or over land, he may recover compensation in
respect of the disturbance from the Company.
(4) Nothing
in this Article shall be construed as absolving the Company from any liability
in respect of damage or injury caused by the escape of water from any land on
which works have been carried out in pursuance of this Article, not being
damage in respect of which compensation is payable under paragraph (3) of this
Article, to which the Company would be subject if the work had been carried out
otherwise than in the exercise of statutory powers.
(5) Where
any dispute arises as to the amount of compensation payable under this Article,
the question shall be referred to and determined by an arbitrator to be
appointed, in default of agreement, by the Committee.
(6) Nothing
in this Article shall be construed as authorizing the carrying out of works or
the abstraction of water in contravention of restrictions imposed in pursuance
of Article 15 of this Law.
ARTICLE 6
POWER OF COMPANY TO ACQUIRE LAND COMPULSORILY
(1) Where
it appears to the States that any land should be acquired by the Company for
any of the purposes of its undertaking, which expression for the purposes of
this Article shall include the prevention of pollution of any water which belongs
to the Company or which it is for the time being authorized to take, and that
it is not possible for the Company to acquire the land by agreement on
reasonable terms, the States may authorize the acquisition of, and the Company
accordingly may require, that land by compulsory purchase in accordance with
the provisions of this Article.
(2) The
provisions of the Compulsory Purchase of Land (Procedure) (Jersey) Law, 1961, as amended, shall
apply to the acquisition of land under this Article as though the definition of
“acquiring authority” in paragraph (1) of Article 1 of that Law
included a reference to the Company and, notwithstanding the provisions of
Article 2 thereof that Law shall, in its application for the purpose of this
Article, have effect as if –
(a) Article 3 were deleted;
(b) references in Articles
6, 13 and 17 to the States, and references in paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article
13 and in Article 16 to the public, were references to the Company;
(c) references therein to
the Greffier of the States were references to the Secretary of the Company.
PART III
SUPPLY OF WATER FOR DOMESTIC OR
NON-DOMESTIC PURPOSES
ARTICLE 7
SUPPLY OF WATER FOR DOMESTIC PURPOSES
(1) Where
an owner of land proposes to erect thereon buildings for which a supply of water
for domestic purposes will be needed, he may require the Company to construct
the necessary works, to lay the necessary mains to such point or points as will
enable the buildings to be connected thereto at a reasonable cost and to bring
water to that point or those points and, subject to sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (4) of this Article, the
Company shall within a reasonable time comply with that requirement.
(2) Subject
to paragraph (3) of this Article, the owner or occupier of any premises may
require the Company to provide a supply of water sufficient for the domestic
purposes of those premises and, subject to sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (4) of this Article, the Company shall within a
reasonable time comply with that requirement:
Provided that the Company shall not be required to supply water
under this paragraph –
(a) from a trunk main or a
main laid specifically for the purpose of fire fighting;
(b) to premises in which
any of the water fittings are not in accordance with bye-laws made under Article
17 of this Law.
(3) In
respect of premises which are –
(a) let furnished; or
(b) let for a term not
exceeding three months certain; or
(c) supplied with water in
such a way that the supply cannot be discontinued without discontinuing the
supply to other premises,
the Company shall not be required, except by the owner of the
premises, to provide a supply of water under paragraph (2) of this Article.
(4) As
a condition of complying with a requirement made under this Article, the
Company may –
(a) in the case of a
requirement under paragraph (1), require the owner to pay such sum, not
exceeding the estimated cost of the work necessary to comply with the
requirement, as the Company may determine;
(b) in the case of a
requirement under paragraph (2), require the owner or occupier, as the case may
be, to pay such sum, not exceeding the estimated cost of the work necessary to
comply with the requirement, as the Company may determine and one
quarter’s water rate.
(5) If
the Company fails to comply with a requirement under paragraph (1) or paragraph
(2) of this Article, or fails to maintain a supply of water for domestic
purposes during any period in respect of which the water rate has been paid or
tendered, it shall, without prejudice to any other remedy enforceable by the
person aggrieved, be guilty of an offence:
Provided that the Company shall be under no such liability if the
failure to provide or maintain a supply is due to –
(a) frost, drought,
unavoidable accident or other unavoidable cause, or the execution of necessary
works; or
(b) the failure of the
person aggrieved to comply with any order or bye-law made under this Law.
(6) Any
question arising under this Article regarding any terms and conditions on which
water is to be supplied thereunder and any question whether the Company is
justified in refusing to provide a supply shall, in default of agreement be
referred to the Committee, which may determine the question.
ARTICLE 8
CONSTANCY AND PRESSURE OF SUPPLY
(1) The
Company shall cause the water in all pipes which are used for providing
supplies for domestic purposes to be laid on constantly and at a sufficient
pressure for the domestic purposes of all premises to which such a supply is
provided.
(2) If
the Company fails to comply with the requirements of paragraph (1) of this
Article, except when prevented by frost, drought, unavoidable accident or other
unavoidable cause, or the execution of necessary works, it shall, without
prejudice to any other remedy enforceable by the person aggrieved, be guilty of
an offence:
Provided that only one prosecution for the recovery of a fine shall
be instituted under this paragraph in respect of the same period of failure.
ARTICLE 9
SUFFICIENCY AND WHOLESOMENESS OF WATER
(1) The
Company shall provide in its mains and communication pipes a supply of
wholesome water sufficient for the domestic purposes of all owners and
occupiers of premises who are entitled under this Law to require a supply for
those purposes.
(2) If
the Company fails to comply with the requirements of paragraph (1) of this
Article, except when prevented by frost, drought, unavoidable accident or other
unavoidable cause, or the execution of necessary works, it shall, without
prejudice to any other remedy enforceable by the person aggrieved, be guilty of
an offence.
ARTICLE 10
SUPPLY OF WATER FOR NON-DOMESTIC PURPOSES
(1) Subject
to the provisions of this Article, the Company shall, within a reasonable time
and on reasonable terms and conditions supply water for purposes other than
domestic purposes to the owner or occupier of any premises who requests the
Company to provide such a supply to those premises:
Provided that the Company shall not be required to provide such a
supply if the provision thereof would endanger the ability of the Company to
meet existing obligations to supply water for any purposes, or probable future
requirements to supply water for domestic purposes, without having to incur
unreasonable expenditure in constructing new waterworks for the purpose.
(2) Any
question arising under paragraph (1) of this Article as to the terms and
conditions on which water is to be supplied thereunder and any question whether
the Company is justified in refusing to provide a supply shall, in default of
agreement, be referred to the Committee, which may determine such question.
(3) Where
the terms and conditions on which a supply of water is to be provided to any
person under this Article have been agreed or determined, and that person has
done everything which he is required by such agreement or determination to do
before the supply is provided, the Company, if it fails to furnish the supply
within such period as may be agreed or determined, or fails to maintain the
supply in accordance with the said terms and conditions, shall, without
prejudice to any other remedy enforceable by the party aggrieved, be guilty of
an offence:
Provided that the Company shall be under no such liability if the
failure to provide or maintain a supply is due to –
(a) frost, drought,
unavoidable accident or other unavoidable cause or the execution of necessary
works; or
(b) the failure of the
person aggrieved to comply with any order or bye-law made under this Law.
(4) Article
12 of this Law shall apply in relation to charges for water supplied under this
Article, whether by meter or otherwise, in like manner as it applies in
relation to water rates.
PART IV
SUPPLY OF WATER FOR FIRE-FIGHTING
PURPOSES
ARTICLE 11
AMENDMENT OF FIRE SERVICE (JERSEY) LAW, 1959
(1) After
paragraph (2) of Article 10 of the Fire Service (Jersey) Law, 1959 (hereinafter in this Article referred to as
“the Law of 1959”) there shall be inserted the following paragraph
–
“(2A) For
the purpose of extinguishing fires, the Company shall permit any person to
take, without payment, water from any hydrant under its control.”
(2) After
Article 12 of the Law of 1959 there
shall be inserted the following Article –
“ARTICLE
12A
PENALTIES FOR DEFAULT IN RESPECT OF
HYDRANTS OR SUPPLY OF WATER
If the Company fails to comply with any obligation imposed upon it
by Article 10, 11 or 12 of this Law, except when prevented by frost, drought,
unavoidable accident or other unavoidable cause or the execution of necessary
works, it shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, and to a
further fine not exceeding five pounds for each day during which such failure
continues.”
PART V
WATER RATES
ARTICLE 12
LIABILITY FOR, AND RECOVERY OF, WATER RATES
(1) Subject
to the provisions of Article 14 of this Law, and without prejudice to any
agreement between the Company and a consumer subsisting on the date of the
coming into force of this Law, water rates payable to the Company shall be
payable and recoverable in accordance with the provisions of this Article and
not otherwise.
(2) The
water rate for a supply of water to any premises shall be payable by the person
requiring the Company to provide the supply and, except where the supply is
metered, shall be payable quarterly in advance.
(3) The
water rate payable by any person may after a demand therefor be recovered from
him by the Company as a civil debt and, subject to the provisions of paragraphs
(4) of this Article, where a person fails to pay within twenty-eight days after
a demand therefor any instalment of a water rate payable by him in respect of
any premises, the Company may cut off the supply of water to the premises:
Provided that if, before the expiration of the said twenty-eight
days, notice in writing is given to the Company that there is a dispute as to
the amount due in respect of the water rate, or as to the liability to pay the
rate, the supply of water shall not be cut off until the dispute has, on the
application of either party, been determined by the Committee.
(4) The
Company shall not cut off the supply of water to any premises by reason of the
failure of the owner of the premises, who is not himself the occupier thereof,
to pay on the due date any instalment of water rate which he is liable in
accordance with this Article to pay in respect of those premises but, without
prejudice to the right of the Company to enforce payment by him, that
instalment may be recovered by the Company either from the owner for the time
being of the premises or from the occupier for the time being of the premises
out of any rent which is then due, or which may thereafter become due, from him
to the owner:
Provided that –
(a) no greater sum shall be
recoverable at any one time from the occupier than the amount of rent which is
owed by him; and
(b) the occupier, as
between himself and the owner of the premises, shall be entitled to deduct from
the rent payable by him to the owner any sum paid by him to the Company in
accordance with the provisions of this paragraph.
(5) If
any water supply is cut off by the Company in contravention of the provisions
of this Article, the Company shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty
pounds for each day during which the water remains cut off.
(6) In
this Article, the expression “water rate” includes any charge for
water supplied by the Company and any additional charge payable to the Company
in respect of a supply of water for any purposes.
ARTICLE 13
NOTICES OF CUTTING OFF OF WATER SUPPLY TO INHABITED HOUSE
Where, in the exercise of its powers under Article 12 of this Law
or for any other reason, the Company proposes to cut off the supply of water to
an inhabited house, it shall, not later than forty-eight hours before that
supply is to be cut off, give notice of its intention so to do to the Medical
Officer of Health and the Connétable of the parish in which the house is
situated and, if it fails to do so, the Company shall be guilty of an offence.
ARTICLE 14
POWER OF STATES IN CONNEXION WITH WATER RATES AND CHARGES
(1) Where
it appears to the States to be necessary so to do in the public interest, the
States may by regulations –
(a) determine the water
rates and charges to be made by the Company in respect of water which it
supplies; and
(b) specify the manner in
which water rates and charges are to be assessed and make provisions incidental
thereto:
Provided that any regulations made under this Article, unless
previously renewed by the States, shall lapse after twelve months from the date
on which they come into force.
(2) In
determining water rates and charges, the States shall have regard to the
following matters –
(a) the present needs of
the Company and the future expansion of services provided by the Company;
(b) the ability of the
Company so long as its undertaking is managed efficiently to pay –
(i) interest
on any debentures or bonds charged on the real property of the Company;
(ii) a
dividend on the preference shares issued by it at the rate fixed under the
terms of issue of such shares; and
(iii) a
reasonable dividend on the ordinary shares issued by it;
(c) any capital expenditure
which the Company may reasonably be expected to incur during the next five
years and the desirability of the Company’s charging such expenditure, or
any part thereof, to revenue;
(d) the ability of the
Company to pay all proper expenses of and connected with the working,
management and maintenance of the Company;
(e) the provision of any
contributions, whether set apart out of revenue or otherwise, which the Company
may lawfully carry to a reserve, contingency or amortization fund;
(f) the ability of
the Company to make good depreciation, whether or not provision therefor is
made by a reserve or contingency fund; and
(g) the ability of the
Company to meet all other costs, charges and expenses, if any, properly
chargeable to revenue.
PART VI
CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF
WATER RESOURCES
ARTICLE 15
CONTROL OF ABSTRACTION AND PREVENTION OF WASTE
Where the States are satisfied that special measures for the
conservation of water are necessary in the public interest, the States may by
regulations make such provisions as they consider appropriate to control
–
(a) the construction of any
well, borehole or other work for the purpose of abstracting underground water;
(b) the extension of any
existing well, borehole or other work for the purpose of abstracting additional
quantities of underground water,
and such regulations may prohibit any person from –
(i) abstracting
underground water from any well, borehole or other work construed or extended
as aforesaid;
(ii) causing
or allowing any underground water to run to waste from any well, borehole or
other work, except for the purpose of testing the extent or quality of the
supply or for cleansing, sterilization, examination or repairing purposes;
(iii) abstracting
from any well, borehole or other work water in excess of his reasonable
requirements.
ARTICLE 16
POWER TO PROHIBIT OR RESTRICT TEMPORARILY USE OF WATER FOR
NON-ESSENTIAL PURPOSES
(1) Where
the Company is of opinion that a serious deficiency of water available in any
part of the Island exists or is threatened, it may, for such period as it
thinks necessary, prohibit or restrict as respects the whole or any part of the
Island the use for watering gardens, washing motor vehicles, filling swimming
pools or other non-essential purposes of any water supplied by it.
(2) Before
any prohibition or restriction under paragraph (1) of this Article comes into
force, the Company shall inform the Committee and shall cause to be published
in the Jersey Gazette a notice of the prohibition or restriction and the date
when it will come into force and such notice shall be certified by the Greffier
of the States as being a notice published in pursuance of this requirement.
(3) Any
person who, whilst the prohibition or restriction is in force, contravenes any
of its provisions shall be guilty of an offence.
(4) During
any period when a prohibition or restriction imposed under this Article is in
force, any person duly authorized in that behalf by the Company may, on
producing if so required evidence of his authority, at all reasonable hours
enter any premises to which the prohibition or restriction applies for the
purpose of ascertaining whether there is or has been any contravention of the
prohibition or restriction.
ARTICLE 17
BYE-LAWS FOR PREVENTING WASTE, MISUSE OR CONTAMINATION OF WATER
(1) Subject
to the approval of the Committee, the Company may make bye-laws for preventing
waste, undue consumption, misuse or contamination of water supplied by it and,
without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such bye-laws may include
provisions –
(a) specifying the size,
nature, materials, strength and workmanship, and the mode of arrangement,
connection, disconnection, alteration and repair, of the water fittings to be
used; and
(b) forbidding the use of
any water fittings which are of such a nature or are so arranged or connected
as to cause or permit, or be likely to cause or permit, waste, undue
consumption, misuse, erroneous measurement or contamination of water or
reverberation in pipes.
(2) If
a person contravenes the provisions of any bye-law made under paragraph (1) of
this Article, the Company may, without affecting such person’s liability
to a fine in respect of such contravention, cause any water fittings belonging
to or used by that person which are not in accordance with the requirements of
the bye-laws to be altered, repaired or replaced and may recover the expenses
reasonably incurred by it in so doing from the person in default as a civil
debt.
ARTICLE 18
BYE-LAWS FOR PROTECTING AGAINST POLLUTION ANY WATER OF THE COMPANY
(1) If
it appears to the Company to be necessary for the purpose of protecting against
pollution any water, whether on the surface or underground, which belongs to it
or which it is for the time being authorized to take, it may, subject to the
approval of the Committee, make bye-laws –
(a) defining the area within
which it deems it necessary to exercise control; and
(b) prohibiting or
regulating the doing within that area of any act specified in the bye-laws; and
(c) empowering any duly
authorized officer or employee to take such action as may be specified in the
bye-laws for the purpose of safeguarding water against pollution,
and different provisions may be contained in the bye-laws in
respect of different parts of the area so defined.
(2) Where
an area has been defined by bye-laws under this Article, the Company may by
notice require either the owner or the occupier of any land within that area to
execute and keep in good repair such works as it considers necessary for
preventing pollution of its water.
(3) A
person who considers that a requirement made on him by notice served under
paragraph (2) of this Article is unreasonable may, within twenty-eight days
after service of the notice, appeal to the Committee and the Committee may, if
it decides, after hearing both parties, that the requirement is unreasonable,
modify or disallow the requirement.
(4) The
Company shall pay compensation to the owners and occupiers of, and other
persons interested in, any land within the area defined by bye-laws made under
this Article, not being land on which any cause of pollution arises, in respect
of –
(a) any curtailment or
injurious affection of their legal rights by restrictions imposed by the
bye-laws; and
(b) any expenses incurred
by them in complying with a requirement to execute and maintain any works,
and any question as to the amount of compensation to be paid shall
be referred to an arbitrator to be appointed, in default of agreement, by the
Committee.
(5) Subject
to the provisions of paragraph (3) of this Article, any person who has failed
to comply with a requirement made on him by notice served under paragraph (2)
of this Article, or with such a requirement as modified, shall be guilty of an
offence and shall be liable to the same penalties as if he had committed an act
prohibited by the bye-laws and, whether or not any proceedings are taken in
respect of the offence, the Company may execute and keep in good repair the
works specified in the requirement as originally made or, as the case may be,
as modified on appeal, and may recover the expenses reasonably incurred by it
in so doing from the person in default as a civil debt.
ARTICLE 19
PENALTY FOR POLLUTING WATER
(1) Any
person who, by any wilful act, default or omission, pollutes any water which is
used or is likely to be used for human or animal consumption, for domestic
purposes, for manufacturing food or drink for human consumption or for
irrigating land used for growing crops shall, without prejudice to any other
remedy enforceable by the person aggrieved, be guilty of an offence.
(2) Without
prejudice to the provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article, where there are
reasonable grounds for supposing that a contravention of that paragraph has
occurred or is likely to occur in relation to water for the time being
belonging to the Company or which it is authorized to take, any officer or
employee of the Company, duly authorized by the Company for that purpose, may,
on producing if so required evidence of his authority, at all reasonable times
enter on any land and may, with the agreement of the occupier of the land, take
such steps as may be necessary to prevent the pollution or the continuation of
the pollution, as the case may be.
PART VII
CERTAIN POWERS OF COMMITTEE
ARTICLE 20
POWER TO INSTRUCT COMPANY TO CARRY OUT SURVEYS AND MAKE REPORTS
(1) The
Committee may instruct the Company to –
(a) carry out a survey of
the existing consumption of and demand for water in the Island, or in any
particular part of the Island, of the means by which such water supplies are
obtained and of the water resources in, or available for, the Island, or that
part;
(b) prepare an estimate of
the future water supply requirements of the Island or of any particular part of
the Island,
and to submit to the Committee a report on such matters in such
form and within such time as the Committee may direct and the Committee shall
pay to the Company such an amount as the Committee deems reasonable in respect
of the costs incurred by the Company in carrying out the Committee’s
instructions.
(2) In
pursuance of an instruction under paragraph (1) of this Article, the Company
may by notice require the owner or occupier of any land to keep such records,
and to furnish such returns, of the quantity and quality of water abstracted
for purposes other than domestic purposes of his household from any source, and
of such other matters relating to the source, as may be specified in the
requirement and the Company shall pay to that person any costs reasonably
incurred by him in complying with the requirement.
(3) A
person who considers that a requirement made on him by notice served under
paragraph (2) of this Article is unreasonable may, within 28 days after the
service of the notice, appeal to the Committee and the Committee may, if it
decides after hearing both parties that the requirement is unreasonable, modify
or disallow the requirement.
(4) Subject
to the provisions of paragraph (3) of this Article, any person who fails to
comply with any requirement made by notice served under paragraph (2) of this
Article, or with such a requirement as modified, shall be guilty of an offence.
ARTICLE 21
DEFAULT POWERS OF COMMITTEE
(1) Where
on a complaint made to it by a consumer, the Committee, after making due
enquiry and after hearing both parties, is satisfied that the Company has
failed –
(a) to provide an adequate
supply of wholesome water; or
(b) to do anything which it
is required to do by or under this Law,
the Committee may declare the Company to be in default and may
direct that such default shall be made good in such manner and within such time
as the Committee may require.
(2) If
the Company is aggrieved by any direction given by the Committee under
paragraph (1) of this Article, it may, within 28 days of the date on which the
directions were given to the Company, appeal to the Royal Court either in term
or in vacation and the Royal Court may, as it thinks fit, uphold or dismiss the
appeal or vary the directions given by the Committee.
(3) Where
an appeal is brought by the Company under this Article, the directions given by
the Committee under paragraph (1) thereof shall have effect only from the date
on which the appeal is dismissed or abandoned or, where any such directions are
varied by the Royal Court, from the date of the order of the Royal Court.
(4) If
the Company fails to comply with any direction given by the Committee, or with
any such direction as varied by the Royal Court, it shall be guilty of an
offence and, whether or not any proceedings are taken in respect of the
offence, the Committee may itself carry out any work necessary to remedy the
default of the Company, and may recover as a civil debt from the Company the
expense incurred in so doing.
ARTICLE 22
COMPANY’S ACCOUNTS
(1) The
Company shall each year prepare an abstract of the accounts of its undertaking
for the preceding year, showing under the appropriate heads its income and
expenditure, the amount standing to the credit of any reserve or contingency
fund and the balances brought forward and carried forward respectively, and the
abstract so prepared shall be signed by the Chairman of the Company and
certified by the Company’s auditors.
(2) The
Committee may give directions as to the form of the abstracts to be prepared by
the Company.
(3) A
copy of the said abstract so signed and certified and a copy of the balance
sheet of the Company for the year to which the abstract relates shall be
transmitted as soon as may be to the Committee.
(4) If
any of the forgoing provisions of this Article are not complied with, the
Company shall be guilty of an offence.
PART VIII
GENERAL
ARTICLE 23
FALSE INFORMATION
Any person who, in keeping any record or journal or in furnishing
any return, abstract or information which he is required by or under this Law
to keep or furnish, knowingly or recklessly makes any statement which is false
in a material particular shall be guilty of an offence.
ARTICLE 24
PENALTIES FOR OFFENCES
Any person guilty of an offence under this Law, or under any order
or regulations made under this Law, shall, except where the provision by or
under which the offence is created provides for a penalty to be imposed, be
liable –
(a) in the case of a first
offence, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds and, where such offence is a
continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day
during which the offence is continued after conviction; and
(b) in the case of a second
or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding two hundred pounds and, where
such offence is a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding twenty
pounds for every day during which the offence is continued after conviction.
ARTICLE 25
ENTRY ON LAND
(1) Subject
to the provisions of this Article, any person duly authorized in that behalf by
the Company shall, on producing, if so required, evidence of his authority,
have a right to enter any land at all reasonable hours for the purpose of
–
(a) inspecting and
examining meters used by the Company for measuring the water supplied and of
ascertaining therefrom the quantity of water consumed;
(b) ascertaining whether
there is or has been, on or in connexion with that or any other land, any
contravention of the provisions of this Law or of any order or bye-laws made
thereunder;
(c) ascertaining whether or
not circumstances exist which would authorize the Company to take any action,
or execute any work, under this Law or any such order or bye-laws;
(d) taking any action, or
executing any work, which the Company is authorized or required by this Law, or
any such order or bye-laws, to take or execute.
(2) Any
person who wilfully obstructs any person upon whom a right of entry has been
conferred by this Article or by any other provision of this Law, or any order
or bye-law made thereunder, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable
to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.
ARTICLE 26
DOCUMENTS TO BE IN WRITING
All notices, consents, approvals, demands and other documents
authorized or required by or under this Law to be served, given, made or issued
by the Committee or by the Company, and all notices and applications authorized
or required by or under this Law to be served on, given or made to, the
Committee or the Company, shall be in writing.
ARTICLE 27
AUTHENTICATION OF DOCUMENTS
(1) Any
notice, consent, approval, demand or other document which the Company is
authorized or required by or under this Law to serve, give, make or issue may
be signed on behalf of the Company –
(a) by the Manager or
Secretary of the Company;
(b) by any other officer of
the Company authorized by it in writing to sign documents of the particular
kind or, as the case may be, the particular document.
(2) Any
document purporting to bear the signature of any person expressed to hold an
office by virtue of which he is under this Article empowered to sign such a
document, or expressed to be duly authorized by the Company to sign such a
document or, as the case may be, the particular document, shall, for the
purposes of this Law and of any order or bye-laws made thereunder, be deemed,
until the contrary is proved, to be duly served, given, made or issued by the
authority of the Company.
(3) In
paragraph (2) of this Article, the expression “signature” includes
a facsimile of a signature by whatever process reproduced.
ARTICLE 28
SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS
(1) Subject
to the provisions of this Article, any notice, consent, approval, demand or
other document required or authorized by or under this Law to be served on any
person may be served –
(a) by delivering it to
that person; or
(b) by leaving it at his
proper address; or
(c) by registered post; or
(d) by the recorded
delivery service.
(2) Any
notice, consent, approval, demand or other document required or authorized by
or under this Law to be served on a person being a corporation shall be duly
served if it is served on the secretary or clerk of the corporation.
(3) For
the purposes of this Article, and of Article 12 of the Interpretation (Jersey)
Law, 1954 in its application to this
Article, the proper address of any person on whom such a document as is
mentioned in paragraph (1) of this Article is to be served shall, in the case
of the secretary or clerk of a corporation, be that of the registered or
principal office of the corporation and, in any other case, be the usual or
last-known place of abode of the person on whom the document is to be served:
Provided that, where the person on whom such a document as is
mentioned in paragraph (1) of this Article is to be served has furnished an
address for service in accordance with arrangements agreed to in that behalf,
his proper address for the purposes aforesaid shall be the address furnished.
(4) If
the name or address of any owner, lessee or occupier of any premises on whom
any such document as aforesaid is to be served cannot after reasonable enquiry
be ascertained by the person seeking to serve the document, it may be served by
addressing it to him by the description of “owner”,
“lessee” or “occupier” of the premises (describing
them) to which the notice relates, and by delivering it to some person on the
premises, or, if there is no person on the premises to whom it can be
delivered, by affixing it, or a copy of it, to some conspicuous part of the
premises.
ARTICLE 29
PROOF OF RESOLUTIONS, ETC
In any proceedings under this Law, a document purporting to be
certified on behalf of the Company as a copy of a resolution or bye-law passed
or made by it on a specified date, or as a copy of the appointment of, or of an
authority given to, an officer of the Company on a specified date, shall be
evidence that that resolution, bye-law, appointment or authority was duly
passed, made or given by the Company on the said date.
ARTICLE 30
DUTY OF THE COMPANY TO GIVE NOTICE OF CERTAIN WORKS
The Company, before commencing to execute repairs or other work
which will cause any material interference with the supply of water, shall,
except in a case of emergency, give to all consumers likely to be affected such
notice as is reasonably practicable, whether by notice in the Jersey Gazette or
otherwise, and shall complete the work with all reasonable dispatch.
ARTICLE 31
BYE-LAWS
(1) The
provisions of the Subordinate Legislation (Jersey) Law, 1960 shall apply to bye-laws made by the Company and
approved by the Committee under this Law and the Committee shall cause the
bye-laws to be laid before the States.
(2) Immediately
after any bye-laws made by the Company under this Law have been approved by the
Committee, the Secretary of the Company shall cause the bye-laws to be printed
and shall cause to be published in the Jersey Gazette a notice stating that the
bye-laws have been made, the date on which the bye-laws come into force and the
place at which printed copies may be purchased:
Provided that printed copies of the bye-laws shall be available for
inspection at the registered office of the Company at all reasonable hours.
(3) Bye-laws
made by the Company under this Law may contain provisions for imposing on any
person contravening the bye-laws a fine not exceeding twenty-pounds in respect
of each contravention and, in the case of a continuing contravention, a further
fine not exceeding five pounds for each day during which the contravention
continues.
ARTICLE 32
ORDERS
(1) The
Committee may by order prescribe anything which it may under this Law
prescribe.
(2) The
Subordinate Legislation (Jersey) Law, 1960 shall
apply to orders made under this Law.
ARTICLE 33
SHORT TITLE AND COMMENCEMENT
(1) This
Law may be cited as the Water (Jersey) Law, 1972.
R&O 5978 14 73
(2) This
Law shall come into force on such day or days as the States may by Act appoint,
and different days may be fixed for different purposes and different provisions
of this Law.
E.J.M. POTTER
Greffier of the States.