S.L. 545.14 Art. 2Interpretation.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

"the Act" means the Regulator for Energy and Water Services Act;

"authorisation" means any authorisation or licence granted under these regulations and in relation to services and service providers it means a permit, licence, appointment, concession or any formal decision concerning access to a service activity or the exercise thereof;

"the Regulator"’ means the Regulator for Energy and Water Services as defined in the Act;

"customer" means and includes any natural or legal person who is supplied with water from a water supplier and, or who receives sewerage services from a sewerage service operator, and wherever it occurs in these regulations, it shall also include "final customer"; "domestic sewage" means sewage and, or wastewater from residential settlements and services which originates predominantly from the human metabolism and from household activities;

"establishment" means the actual pursuit of an economic activity by a service provider for an indefinite period and through stable infrastructure from where the business of providing services is actually carried out; "final customer" means any natural or legal person who is supplied with water from a water supplier for his own use and, or who receives sewerage services from a sewerage services operator for his own use; "industrial sewage" means any sewage and, or wastewater which is discharged from premises used for the carrying out of any trade, practice, activity or industry, other than domestic sewage and run-off rain water; capacity as a sewerage services operator; "internal water distribution system of any premises" means the pipework, fittings and appliances which are installed within any premises and up to the distribution network but only if they are not the responsibility of the water supplier in its capacity as a water supplier; "licensee" means the holder of the licence issued by the Regulator under these regulations, or an authorised provider who is authorised by the Regulator in terms of these regulations to carry out the activity regarding the collection, purification and distribution of water, and also regarding the disposal and treatment of waste water, or a service provider who is authorised to operate under any law in force in a Member State of the European Union or a state which is a participant to the European Economic Area; "Member State" means a member state of the European Union;

"the Minister" means the Minister responsible for Resources; "non-potable water supplier" means a water supplier whose scope of operations is limited to water that is not potable water; "overriding reasons relating to public interest" means reasons recognised as such in case law of the European Courts of Justice and which reasons present a justification for the issue of an authorisation and, or the issue of a condition thereto and, or any other policy decision taken in terms of such authorisation, when such authorisation, and, or condition and, or policy decision thereto could not have been issued or taken under normal circumstances but for such overriding reasons relating to public interest which include any of the following grounds:

(a) public policy, public security, public safety and public health; provided that these grounds shall be interpreted within the meaning of Article 46 and Article 55 of the Treaty;

(b) the maintenance of order in society;

(c) social policy objectives;

(d) the protection of the recipients of services;

(e) consumer protection;

(f) the prevention of fraud;

(g) the prevention of unfair competition; and

(h) the protection of the environment; "potable water" means all water:

(a) either in its original state or after treatment is intended for drinking, cooking, food preparation or other domestic purposes, regardless of its origin and whether it is supplied from a distribution network, pipeline or a tanker; "private sewage collection system" means a sewage collection system which is not a public sewage collection system;

"private water distribution network" means a water distribution network which is not a public water distribution network;

"production of water" means the process of abstraction of water and, or its treatment at a water treatment plant;

"public sewage collection system" means a sewage collection system which is vested in or belongs to the Government or any Government owned company or parastatal corporation by whatever title and is operated by the Government, a Government owned company or a parastatal corporation;

"public water distribution network" means a water distribution network which is vested in or belongs to the Government or any Government owned company or parastatal corporation by whatever title and is operated by the Government, a Government owned company or a parastatal corporation;

"recipient" means any natural person who is a national of a Member State, who benefits from rights conferred upon him by community acts or any legal person established in a Member State, who for professional or non-professional purposes, uses or wishes to use a service against non-economic considerations;

"seawater" means water which has an electrical conductivity of more than 50,000 μS/cm;

"service" means any self-employed activity performed for an economic consideration;

"service provider" means any natural person who is a national of a Member State, or any legal person established in a Member State, who offers or provides a service; "sewage" means domestic sewage and, or wastewater or the mixture of domestic sewage and, or wastewater with industrial sewage and, or wastewater and, or run-off rain water; "sewage collection system" means a system of sewers, conduits, pipes, manholes, pumps and any other facility used for the collection, transfer, treatment and disposal of sewage from any premises or establishment, but excludes the internal sewage collection system of any premises; "sewage collection tanker" means any vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer which has a capacity of transporting a volume of sewage of not less than three cubic meters;

"sewage treatment plant" means any structure, facility, device, process or combination thereof used for the purpose of treating or stabilizing sewage and, or wastewater or industrial sewage and, or wastewater and disposing and, or reuse of the effluent; "sewerage services operator" means any person licensed or disposal of waste water and the transfer and, or disposal and, or supply and, or retail of effluent, whether or not such activities are carried out against a fee, charge or any other form of remuneration, howsoever it may be described; "supply of water" means and includes the carrying out of all or any of the activities regarding treatment, transfer, distribution, supply and, or retail of water other than bottled water, whether or not such activities are carried against a fee, charge, or any other form of remuneration, howsoever it may be described, but does not include water abstraction;

"the Treaty" means the Treaty establishing the European Community;

"water distribution network" means a system or network of conduits, pipes, pumps, wells, storage tanks, reservoirs, or other facilities used for the collection, storage, transfer and distribution of water but excludes the internal water distribution system of any premises;

"water tanker" means any vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer which has a capacity of transporting a volume of water of not less than three cubic meters; "water treatment plant" means a facility or that portion of the water supply system that alters either the physical, chemical, or bacteriological quality of the water and that is used to render the water potable;

"water supplier" means any person licensed or authorised by these regulations to supply water other than bottled water.