Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts

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WATER RESOURCES ACT 1998 (NO. 63 OF 1998) - SECT 4

Interpretation

    In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

“allocation”, in relation to water, means an allocation granted under Part VI;
“authorised officer” means an authorised officer under subsection 14 (3) of the Environment Protection Act;
“Authority” means the Environment Management Authority established under section 11 of the Environment Protection Act;
“bore” means a bore, hole, well, excavation or other opening in the ground or an underground cavity (whether occurring naturally or having been artificially constructed or modified)—

        (a)     from which ground water is, or is capable of being, obtained or used; or

        (b)     that is used, or is capable of being used, for the disposal of water or waste below the surface of the ground but does not include a subsoil drain;

“bore construction permit” means a permit granted under section 44;
“determined fee” means a fee determined under section 78 for the purposes of the provision in which the expression occurs;
“drill”, in relation to a bore, means to drill the bore or to excavate a bore in any other manner and includes to deepen or widen an existing bore;
“driller's licence” means a driller's licence granted under section 39;
“environmental flow”, in relation to a waterway or aquifer, means the environmental flow for that waterway or aquifer ascertained in accordance with guidelines under section 5 ;
“environmental flow guidelines” means guidelines approved under section 9;
“Environment Protection Act” means the Environment Protection Act 1997 ;
“flow”, in relation to surface water and ground water, includes the discharge, release, escape or passage of the water;
“interstate water allocation” means an allocation of water made under a corresponding law of a State or another Territory that regulates the allocation of water;
“land” includes a building or structure on land;
“licence to take water” means a licence granted under section 35;
“management plan” means a management plan prepared under Part V as varied and in effect from time to time;
“newspaper” means a newspaper published and circulating in the Territory;
“Register” means the register established and maintained under section 64;
“recharge licence” means a licence granted under section 47;
“re-use”, in relation to water, includes to use wastewater, whether or not it has been treated;
“stormwater” means water run-off from an urban area that is normally collected by a stormwater system;
“stormwater system” means a system of pipes, gutters, drains and channels, being public works constructed to collect or transport stormwater in or through an urban area;
“subsoil drain” means an underground pipe or construction the purpose of which is to drain underground water—

        (a)     to protect a building, retaining wall, excavation, roadway or other construction from seepage or water pressure; or

        (b)     to facilitate the use of an area of ground by eliminating or reducing wet ground conditions in that area;

“surface water” means—

        (a)     water flowing over land (including in a waterway)—

              (i)     after having fallen as rain or hail or having precipitated in any other manner; or

              (ii)     after rising to the surface naturally from underground; or

        (b)     water of a kind referred to in paragraph (a) that has been collected in a dam or reservoir;

“take”, in relation to water, includes—

        (a)     in the case of bore water—to allow water to flow or be pumped from the bore; and

        (b)     in any other case—

              (i)     to withdraw, pump, extract, use or re-use, and to divert for the purpose of using or re-using, the water; or

              (ii)     to do any other thing that results in a reduction of flow in a waterway;

“wastewater” means water that is the by-product of an activity, being water that—

        (a)     contains other matter (whether in a solid, liquid or gaseous state); or

        (b)     if added to receiving waters—has the potential to pollute those waters;

“water” includes water that contains impurities;
“waterway” means—

        (a)     a river, creek, stream or other natural channel in which water flows (whether permanently or intermittently);

        (b)     a channel formed (whether in whole or in part) by altering or relocating a waterway described in paragraph (a), and includes the stormwater system; or

        (c)     a lake, pond, lagoon or marsh (whether formed by geomorphic processes or by works) in which water collects (whether continuously or intermittently);

and includes—

        (d)     the bed that the water in the waterway normally flows over or is covered by; and

        (e)     the banks that the water in the waterway normally flows between or is contained by;

but does not include land normally not part of the waterway that may be covered from time to time by floodwaters from the waterway;

“works permit” means a permit granted under section 69.


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