73Power to close down or transfer small water service

1. This section applies to a small water service—

2. that has been operated by a water service provider; but
3. that it is no longer appropriate to maintain.

4. Despite section 19(2), a water service provider may—

5. close down a water service; or
6. transfer a water service to an entity that represents the community for which the service is operated.

7. The water service provider must not close down or transfer the water service unless—

8. there are 200 or fewer persons for whom the water service is operated and they are ordinarily resident in the provider’s service area; and
9. the provider has consulted the Medical Officer of Health for the district in which the provider’s service area is located or the Water Services Authority; and
10. in the case of a proposed closure, the provider has—
    1. carried out a review, assessment, and comparison under section 74(1); and
    2. made all information obtained from those actions publicly available in a balanced and timely manner; and
11. in the case of a proposed transfer, the provider has—
    1. developed a draft management plan and carried out assessments under section 74(2); and
    2. made all information obtained from those actions publicly available in a balanced and timely manner; and
12. the provider has made the views of the Medical Officer of Health or the Water Services Authority (as applicable) publicly available in a balanced and timely manner; and
13. the proposal is supported, in a binding referendum conducted under section 9 of the Local Electoral Act 2001 using the First Past the Post electoral system,—
    1. in the case of a proposed closure, by 75% or more of the votes cast by eligible voters; or
    2. in the case of a proposed transfer, by more than 50% of the votes cast by eligible voters.

14. For the purposes of subsection (3)(a), a certificate signed by the chief executive of the water service provider as to the relevant number of persons is conclusive evidence of that number.