The Act makes provision for the management and conservation of water resources, granting, variation, determination, and registration of water rights, the licensing of well-diggers, and legal proceedings; it also prescribes offences and penalties. The Water Authority, established under section 2, shall act on the basis of general directions given to it by the Minister responsible for works and engineering (sect. 3) and carry out tasks specified in this Act such as the registration of existing water rights (sects. 8 and 10), the determination of non-registered existing water rights (sect. 9), the granting of water rights under section 11, the determination of water for which a water right is granted (sect. 17), the issuance of well-digger licences under section 21, etc. Inspection of works and the taking of samples shall be carried out by a public officer appointed for this purpose by the Minister under section 27. The Minister may require repair of works (sect. 28), demolition of unlawful works and stop of abstraction, pollution or other (unlawful) acts (sect. 29), etc. The Chief Engineer or any person aggrieved by a decision of the Authority may appealed to the Minister under section 31. Decisions of the Minister may be appealed against with the Supreme Court (sect. 32). Section 33 prohibits also the pollution of sea water. Section 4 declares abstraction, use or storage of public water without a right to do so granted under this Act to an offence. A water right may be declared to be appurtenant to a specified land (sect. 12). General powers of the Authority are specified in section 14.
Water Resources Act 1975.