This Act may be cited as the Mining Amendment Act, 1931, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the Mining Act, 1926 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act).

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

Any Council may from time to time, by special order, declare the whole of its county, or any part thereof defined in such special order, to be a water-supply area for the purposes of this Act, with such name as is assigned thereto in such special order; and may, if it thinks fit, in the same or any subsequent special order, divide such water-supply area into such number of subdivisions with such boundaries as it thinks fit.

The Council may from time to time in like manner—

Every special order under this section shall be published in the Gazette, and shall take effect on the date of gazetting or on some later date mentioned in such special order.

The Council may from time to time, in the manner provided by the Counties Act, 1920, make by-laws in respect of any water-supply area constituted by it as aforesaid, and in such by-laws may—

The Council may in respect of any year, by resolution, reduce any scale of charges for water prescribed by any by-law as aforesaid, and where the Council has delegated to a committee any of the powers exercisable by the Council under a mining privilege in respect of water the power conferred by this subsection may, with the approval of the Council, be exercised by such committee.

In addition to the power conferred on it by subsection one hereof, the Council may in any by-laws as aforesaid declare any part of a water-supply area to which water is supplied for domestic or industrial purposes to be a town area, and in such case the Council may in such by-laws—

No by-laws made pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this section shall have force or effect unless and until approved by the Governor-General.

Every charge for water duly made pursuant to any such by-law as aforesaid shall for all purposes be deemed to be a rate.

The Council may apply any moneys received for water supplied by it in any water-supply area in payment of interest and sinking fund charges on any loan or loans raised to provide for the cost of acquisition of the mining privileges in respect of water in that areha or of constructing any work in connection therewith, and in payment of the cost of maintenance and repair of such mining privileges or works (including administration expenses).

The Council, or where it has delegated its powers to a committee, then such committee, may stop, reduce, or alternate the flow of water in any water-race held by the Council, or, in the case of two or more races out of the one stream or watercourse, may from time to time, as it deems it expedient so to do, run all the water authorized to be diverted by such races wholly in one or more of such races or partly in one or partly in another or others of such races to the exclusion of any other or others of such races.

Nothing contained in this Act or in the said by-laws shall be read or construed to be a guarantee by the Council or any committee to provide or supply water in any particular race or to any occupier, owner, or ratepayer in a fixed or specified quantity, or to render it responsible for any partial or total failure of any such supply, or for any pollution in the same from whatever cause arising, nor shall any occupier, owner, or ratepayer by reason of such failure or pollution or through flooding, overflowing, seepage, or escape of water on to his lands be relieved of any part of the payment of any rate or charge duly imposed in respect of the supply of water under any by-laws as aforesaid or otherwise in accordance with the provisions of this Act; and such payment shall be made in full notwithstanding such failure, pollution, flooding, overflowing, seepage, or escape of water.

No person shall have any claim to compensation or right of action or other remedy against the Council or any committee by reason of any such partial or total failure in the supply of water as aforesaid or of pollution of such water.

In case any person—

the Council, or where the control of the particular water-supply area has been delegated to a committee, then such committee, may stop the supply of water to the land of such person, and prevent him from using the water until he has ceased to make default or has otherwise complied with the requirements of the Council or committee.

Nothing in paragraph (k) or paragraph (kk) of section one hundred and twenty-nine of the principal Act shall have any application within any water-supply area constituted under section three of this Act:

Provided that prices for water fixed under the said paragraph (k) and by-laws made under the said paragraph (kk) in respect of mining privileges within any such area shall enure for the purposes of such privileges until by-laws with respect thereto are made under this Act and come into force, and any moneys payable in respect of the prices for water as aforesaid and not paid before the coming into force of by-laws made under this Act may thereafter be recovered as provided in the said paragraph (k).