Cap. 355 Art. 2Interpretation.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"apparatus" includes vehicles, all machines, devices and fittings used in the pumping, desalination, treatment or transport of water and waste water;

"appointed day", in relation to the provisions of Part IV of this Act, means the day or days on which article 32 comes into force* with respect to such public undertakings as may be transferred by virtue of that article; "Board" means the Board of the Corporation established by article 5; "Chairman", "Deputy Chairman" and "Member" mean the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman and a member of the Board respectively;

"Chief Executive" means the Chief Executive of the Corporation appointed in accordance with article 5(5);

"cistern" means any reservoir, tank (excluding roof tank), pond, or other receptacle, used or intended to be used for collecting or storing water, whether situated or constructed above or below ground, covered or uncovered; "collecting area" means that surface or area of lands, roads, sites, or buildings, the rain falling upon which causes or contributes to any stream or deposit of surface water;

"conduit" means any channel, ditch, gutter, pipe or aqueduct, made or intended for the conveyance of water which is to be collected, stored, or in any way utilized; "consumer" means the person or body corporate to whom services are rendered by the Corporation; "Corporation" means the Water Services Corporation established by this Act; "director" means a director of the Corporation under this Act;

"domestic sewage" means the contents of lavatories and water which has been used for cooking or washing, and other waste water ordinarily removed from domestic premises, but does not include surface water removed from buildings and from land occupied with, and appurtenant to, the building, nor any waste water other than the contents of lavatories and other water used for personal hygiene and similar purposes, removed from trade premises, or from any laundry;

"domestic supply" means a supply of water made to a tenement to meet the ordinary and reasonable requirements of the domestic

*20th January, 1992 - see Legal Notice 7 of 1992. "irrigation area" means any area so declared by order of the Minister responsible for agriculture; "gallery" means an underground passage made in searching for a spring, or for collecting the waters of a spring or through which the waters of a spring may flow from one point to another, in the context of groundwater exploitation;

"licence" means any permit or authority given in writing by the Corporation mentioned in article 44 hereof;

"mains" means a pipe laid for the purpose of giving a general supply of water as distinct from a supply to individual consumers and includes any apparatus in connection with such pipe; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for water and includes any person authorised by such Minister in that behalf; "officer" and "other employees" in relation to the Corporation include any public officer detailed for duty with the Corporation; "person" includes any body of persons or any body corporate established by the law; "public officer" has the same meaning as is assigned to it in article 126 of the Constitution; "public undertaking" means any undertaking or installation, and any apparatus, instrument, device or plant and all things accessory * or ancillary thereto which, immediately before the appointed day , were vested in or belonged to the Government by whatever title and were operated by it for the purposes of producing, storing and distributing water or collecting and disposing or treating of sewage, waste water or stormwater run-off;

"premises" includes lands, buildings, houses and any other structure whatsoever;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations, rules or orders made under or kept in force by this Act;

"sea-craft" includes floating tanks for the supply of water to any sea vessels;

"service" means a conduit made for the purpose of conveying water from the water works to any tenement, for the exclusive use of the owner or occupier thereof, or for any use or purpose within the same tenement; "spring" means water existing or flowing naturally underground, continually or from time to time, whether the said water escapes or flows on the surface or not;

"stormwater run-off" shall include rainwater which is not absorbed by the ground or which does not evaporate and which is

*20th January, 1992 - see Legal Notice 7 of 1992. "trade effluent" means any liquid (either with or without particles of matter in suspension or dissolved in it) other than surface water and domestic sewage, which is discharged from premises used for carrying on any commercial or industrial activity;

"trade premises" means any land or building, used partly or in whole for the purpose of undertaking any commercial or industrial activity. For the purpose of this definition, it also means any premises wholly or mainly used (whether for profit or not) for agriculture or horticultural purposes or for scientific research or experiment; "watercourse" means any ditch, valley, ravine, gutter, channel or pipe, through or along which spring or surface-water flows continually or from time to time; "water fittings" includes pipes other than mains, taps, cocks, valves, ferrules, meters, cisterns, baths, water closets, and other similar apparatus used in connection with the supply and use of water; "water pump" means any mechanical device for the purpose of raising, boosting and/or circulating water from any source or place whatsoever; and a water pump shall be deemed to have been installed on a site when its component parts have been assembled as to be reasonably deemed to be in a condition to raise, boost, and/ or circulate water from any source or place whatsoever and "installation" shall be construed accordingly;

"water resources" means water which for the time being is:

(a) contained in any mains or service;

(b) inland water as is situated therein such as ponds or reservoirs; and

(c) any underground strata, including water for the time being contained in a well, borehole or similar work or in any excavation into underground strata where the level of water in the excavation depends wholly or mainly on water entering it from those strata;

"waterworks" means all collecting areas, conduits (except all such conduits as are "services" within the meaning of this Act), cisterns, wells, galleries, dams, weirs, machines, pumps, valves, sluices, and other appliances which are used or intended to be used for obtaining, pumping, raising, collecting, processing, desalination, polishing, storing or conveying water which is to be supplied or distributed; and includes those works in which water is received or contained or by which water is conveyed, supplied or distributed; "wholesome water" means water the quality of which is in accordance with standards set by the Department of Health in the light of circumstances prevailing at the time.