I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. Under the Public Health Acts a sanitary authority may acquire any land covered with water, or a right to take and convey water for the purpose of a public water supply. If they cannot acquire either the land or the rights by agreement they may petition the Minister for compulsory powers. If the petition is acceded to in whole or in part, the rights acquired by the sanitary authority are those described in the Provisional Order of the Minister, as confirmed. No rights can be conferred by the order that are not sought in the petition.
Where the source of a public water supply is a river or stream there may be several riparian interests affected. The rights of a lower riparian owner might be held to be injuriously affected if the supply of water in a stream is altered by the extraction of water for public purposes, even though there is no appreciable reduction in the flow of water. To obtain the consent or rights of every riparian owner below the intake would be a formidable task and quite unnecessary. Yet the sanitary authority may not be secure in its rights to take water from such a source unless the consent of every riparian owner throughout the entire flow from the intake is obtained, or failing such consent, unless riparian rights are acquired. The acquisition even under the authority of a provisional order, duly confirmed, of rights at the source of supply which did not include all riparian rights would not afford to the sanitary authority the full protection that is required.
There is, therefore, some doubt whether the powers conferred by the Public Health Acts should continue to be relied upon in so far as the acquisition of water rights is concerned. It is in the public interest that a sanitary authority, when it has provided a public water supply, should not be open to any possibility of injunction at a future date and it is hoped to achieve that object in this Bill.
I will briefly outline the procedure to be followed. The first step is for the sanitary authority to make a proposal setting out the source of water, the place at which the supply is to be taken, the maximum flow of water and the maximum rate at which water is to be taken. The notice of the proposal will be given in the public Press, and the proposal and a book of reference setting out the names of persons to whom damage may be caused will be deposited for inspection locally. The persons whose names are in the book of reference will receive notice of the proposal, and of the time within which an objection to the proposal must be lodged, a month being the minimum time. Any person, not included in the book of reference, who is aggrieved by the proposal may object to the local authority within the time specified in the public notice, a month's notice being the minimum. An objection to a proposal must relate to a matter other than the amount of compensation; but a question whether an objection to a proposal is a valid objection shall be submitted to and decided by the Minister.
If no objection is received the proposal will be an agreed proposal. If a valid objection is duly made the sanitary authority may apply to the Minister for a provisional order declaring that the proposal may come into force. On such application the Minister may refuse the application, make a provisional order in accordance with the application, or alter the proposal, but in altering the proposal he cannot increase any maximum rate for the taking of water.
A local inquiry may be held into an application for a provisional order. If a provisional order is made, a copy of the order will be given to every person who made a valid objection, and such person may, within five weeks, present a petition to the Circuit Court praying that the provisional order shall not become law without further inquiry. If no petition is presented to the Circuit Court, the Minister may confirm the provisional order, or amend it. If a petition is presented to the Circuit Court, the provisional order may be confirmed or disallowed. Whenever a proposal has been agreed, or a provisional order has been confirmed, notice will be given of the date on which the proposal will come into force, and on that day the proposal will come into force. It will then be lawful for the sanitary authority to take a supply from the source to which the proposal relates; and their rights will be absolute.
The damage caused to any person by the taking of a supply of water under a proposal is defined in the Bill to mean the reduction in the value of any estate, interest or right in land, or the damage caused to any trade, business or profession. Any person to whom damage is caused will receive compensation, but no other person. Compensation will be determined in the usual way. The amount may be either settled by agreement or in default of agreement by arbitration. If a person applies for compensation, and either no compensation is awarded by the arbitrator or the amount awarded does not exceed the amount which may have been offered originally by the sanitary authority, the applicant will bear his own costs, and pay the costs of the sanitary authority. Interest on compensation will be payable at 4 per cent. per annum from the date when the scheme came into force to the date on which the compensation is determined.
The position of existing schemes is safeguarded by the provisions of Section 18 of the Bill. No court may grant or issue an injunction or order restraining the sanitary authority from continuing to take a supply from an existing source, but if there has been wrongful interference by the sanitary authority with any person's rights the person concerned may seek damages. The expression "source of water" is defined to mean any lake, river, stream, well, or spring. It is not intended that a sanitary authority should be empowered to take water so as to affect navigation rights. The existing powers of sanitary authorities derived from the Public Health Acts do not authorise them to interfere with any river or canal so as to injuriously affect navigation thereon. An amendment to the Bill may be necessary to safeguard navigation rights where a sanitary authority proceeds under the provisions of the Bill. The position will be further considered before Committee Stage.