Commentary on Sections Part 1 – Controlled Reservoirs, Registration and Reservoir Designation Section 6 – Reservoir managers
Responsibility for managing or operating a controlled reservoir is placed upon persons or organisations referred to in the Act as ‘the reservoir manager’. It is possible that a controlled reservoir may be managed by one reservoir manager or by more than one (multiple) reservoir managers. Section 6 specifies who the reservoir manager of a controlled reservoir is for the purposes of the Act.
Subsection (2) provides that a water undertaker that manages or operates a controlled reservoir, or any part of a controlled reservoir, is a reservoir manager for all of the reservoir or the reservoir manager for the part which is managed or operated by it.
Subsection (3) provides that a sewerage undertaker that manages or operates a controlled reservoir is a reservoir manager. Therefore, the sewerage undertaker will be the sole reservoir manager of a controlled reservoir managed or operated by it, as generally this would be tanks dealing with effluent and therefore it would be inappropriate to have another manager.
Where there is no sewerage undertaker involved in the management or operation of a reservoir, the water undertaker or the person(s) or organisation(s) that manages or operates the controlled reservoir, or any part of the controlled reservoir, would be the reservoir manager for all or part of the reservoir that they manage or operate.
The owner of all or part of a controlled reservoir would be the reservoir manager for the entire reservoir, or the reservoir manager for the part of a controlled reservoir which they own, where there is no sewerage undertaker, or water undertaker, or person(s) or organisation(s) managing or operating all of a controlled reservoir or any part of it.
Subsection (7) determines that the reservoir manager for a reservoir which is being constructed or restored to use would be the person who is proposing to manage or operate the reservoir.
Subsection (8) clarifies, for the avoidance of doubt that, in carrying out or maintaining any works or taking any other action in relation to a controlled reservoir or any part of it in exercise of powers under the Drainage (Northern Ireland) Order 1973, the Department is not to be regarded as a reservoir manager. Any such works or actions by the Department will only be undertaken pursuant to the Department’s functions under that Order.