The defendants erected water-closets on their premises, the drains from which they connected with two small natural water-courses, which had become sewers, and were, therefore, vested in the plaintiffs, a local board. Through these sewers the sewage from the water-closets flowed by natural gravitation into a larger stream. The defendants were entitled as against the plaintiffs to connect the drains from their water-closets with these sewers under s. 21 of the Public Health Act, 1875; but the plaintiffs had not sanctioned their so doing. The plaintiffs under s. 10 of the Rivers Pollution Prevention Act, 1876, applied to a county court for and obtained an order to restrain the defendants from causing the sewage to flow into the stream. On appeal against this order, it appeared to the Court that, upon the facts of the case, the plaintiffs were themselves in default in not having made any provision for dealing with the sewage in these sewers, as required by the Public Health Act, 1875. Held, that the making of the order was discretionary, and although the defendants had offended against the Rivers Pollution Prevention Act, 1876, as a matter of discretion, under the circumstances of the case, an order ought not to be made against them at the instance of the plaintiffs, who were themselves offenders against that Act, and were seeking to avoid performance of their duty under the Public Health Act, 1875:
Held, also, that an appeal on the above-mentioned ground was correctly
brought by way of motion.
Judges:
Bowen, AL Smith LJJ
Citations:
[1892] 2 QB 274, [1892] UKLawRpKQB 155
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – Ainley v Kirkheaton Local Board 1891
The exercise of the right of an owner of property to discharge into a public sewer conferred by section 21 of the 1875 Act could not be prevented by the local authority on the ground that the discharge was creating a nuisance. It was for the local . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Utilities
Updated: 09 September 2022; Ref: scu.659344