What UK Water Act 2003: Abstraction Licensing Reform, the Ofwat Duties and Water Conservation requires
The Water Act 2003 reformed the water abstraction licensing system, restructured the economic regulation of the water industry and strengthened water-conservation duties in England and Wales, amending the Water Resources Act 1991 and the Water Industry Act 1991, administered by the Environment Agency and the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat). Part 1 reforms abstraction and impounding: section 1 deals with licences to abstract water, section 13 sets out the types of abstraction licence (including full, transfer and temporary licences) and how applications are made, section 20 provides for the limited extension of abstraction-licence validity and underpins the move to time-limited licences, and section 25 provides for compensation where a licence is modified on the direction of the Secretary of State. Part 2 makes new regulatory arrangements: section 34 establishes the Water Services Regulation Authority as a body corporate (replacing the Director General of Water Services), and section 39 sets the objectives and general duties under the Water Industry Act, including the furtherance of sustainable development. Part 2 also opens the market: section 56 provides for the licensing of other water suppliers, the basis of competition in water supply. Part 3 strengthens conservation: section 81 imposes a duty to encourage water conservation, section 82 places water-conservation requirements on relevant undertakers, and section 83 imposes a water-conservation duty on public authorities. The Act is the instrument that moved abstraction licensing toward time-limited, environmentally informed licences, modernised the economic regulator and embedded water conservation as a statutory duty.
Pillar: Water & Environmental Resources · Authority: UK Parliament / Environment Agency and the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) · Version: 1.0.0 · Last updated:
Primary source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/37/contents
SHA-256 integrity: 783d0a2e4e4e652df2feec07fabe9c3cc091a19a23b877f796cb44678a88f8fe
Primary Citations — 8 traced to source
- Water Act 2003, section 1 - licences to abstract water.
- Water Act 2003, section 13 - applications: types of abstraction licence.
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