Malaysia legislation
Section 16
Section 16
(1)
The owner or occupier of land or premises may, free of charge and without requiring a licence under this Enactment, exercise a private right to take, use and control, sufficient for household and subsistence agricultural purposes—
(a)
groundwater under the land or premises; or
(b)
where the land or premises has frontage to a water body, water directly from that water body.
(2)
The right conferred in subsection (1) may be exercised provided that any work for taking and using the water does not—
(a)
cause a significant obstruction to or diversion of the flow of water in a water body;
(b)
store more than one megalitre of water or, if the Director declares a different capacity, the different capacity; or
20
(c)
take water from the water body at a rate of flow exceeding 20 litres per second or, if the Director declares a different rate, the different rate.
(3)
The Director may require the right conferred by this section to be registered if the Director considers that—
(a)
the exercise of such a right poses a threat to the availability or quality of water or the aquatic environment, whether such a threat is posed at all times or under particular conditions only; or
(b)
an approved catchment management plan or water management plan identifies the need for information on or control of rights conferred by this section.
(4)
The Director may, from time to time, direct a person exercising a right conferred by this section to install or operate, in association with a work for the purpose of exercising that right—
(a)
facilities for passing the flow of water; or
(b)
a device to regulate or monitor the flow of water.