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Public Works Act 1981

Artificial lakes and secondary use of public works land - Artificial lakes

190: Regulations as to use of lake formed by construction of Government work

You could also call this:

“Rules for lakes made by government projects”

This law is about how the government can make rules for lakes that were created or made bigger by government projects. Here’s what you need to know:

An artificial lake is a body of water created by a government project. If a natural lake gets bigger because of a government project, the whole lake is still considered natural.

The Governor-General can make rules about artificial lakes. These rules can control how people use the lake and its water. They can also stop people from putting things in the lake that might cause problems.

The rules can’t let people put anything in the lake that goes against other laws. The government can make these rules for all artificial lakes or just for some of them.

The government can also make rules for parts of natural lakes that are close to government projects or where the water flows out of the lake. They can even make rules for rivers between a lake and a project that controls the lake’s water level.

If anyone breaks these rules, they might have to pay a fine of up to $500.

The rules made under this law are called secondary legislation, which means they have to follow certain steps to become official.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM48113.

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Part 17 Artificial lakes and secondary use of public works land
Artificial lakes

190Regulations as to use of lake formed by construction of Government work

  1. In this section, unless the context otherwise requires,—

    artificial lake means a body of water formed or impounded by a Government work or by a work acquired by the Crown

      natural lake means a lake that is not an artificial lake.

      1. Where a natural lake exists before the construction of a Government work, or a work acquired by the Crown, which increases the area of that lake, the whole of the lake as so increased in area shall be deemed to be a natural lake for the purposes of this section.

      2. In addition to all powers of making regulations in respect of lakes conferred on him by the Harbours Act 1950 or by any other Act, but subject to the Resource Management Act 1991 and subsection (4), the Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, in respect of any artificial lake, make regulations—

      3. prohibiting, or permitting, regulating, and prescribing terms and conditions for, the use of the lake or its waters or any part of it or its waters:
        1. prohibiting, or permitting, regulating, and prescribing terms and conditions for, the discharge into or placing in the lake of any solid or liquid matter likely to settle in the lake, or cause an obstruction in it, or interfere with any authority or person lawfully using the lake, or its waters, or any part of it or its waters:
          1. prescribing fines, not exceeding $500 in any case, for the breach of any regulations made under this section.

            1. Any regulations made under subsection (3)(b) shall not permit the discharge or placing of any matter into or in the lake in contravention of any legislation.

            2. Regulations under this section may be made generally in respect of all artificial lakes, or in respect of any 1 or more of such lakes.

            3. The power of making regulations under this section shall be exercisable in respect of such parts of any natural lake as lie within 350 metres from—

            4. any part of a Government work constructed for the purpose of utilising the waters of the lake; or
              1. any outlet of the lake as it exists from time to time—
                  1. where a work designed for the control of the level of the waters of the lake is constructed on a river or stream flowing from the lake, in the same manner as if those parts of the natural lake were parts of an artificial lake.

                1. The power of making regulations under this section may be exercised in respect of such part of any river or stream as lies between a work constructed for the control of the level of the waters of a lake from which it flows and the outlet of the lake, in the same manner as if that part of the river or stream were an artificial lake.

                2. The provisions of Part 2 of the Fisheries Act 1908 shall apply to any artificial lake as if its waters were not private waters.

                3. Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

                Compare
                • 1948 No 39 s 36
                Notes
                • Section 190(3): amended, on , by section 6 of the Resource Management (Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Repeal and Interim Fast-track Consenting) Act 2023 (2023 No 68).
                • Section 190(3): amended, on , by section 362 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (1991 No 69).
                • Section 190(4): amended, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).
                • Section 190(9): inserted, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).