Chapter
6:
Legal
and
regulatory
framework
of
Water
Law
6.5.3
Conditions
for
losing
the
diversion
right
and
usufruct
According
to
Shari’ah,
following
the
line
of
reasoning
where
water
diversion
rights
and
usufruct
are
connected
to
the
land,
these
rights
cannot
be
lost.
Nevertheless,
the
use
of
these
rights
may
cease
in
certain
situations.
Firstly,
this
occurs
if
land
is
washed
away
or
covered
by
a
layer
of
sediment.
Secondly,
if
the
intake
structure
is
extremely
damaged
or
even
washed
away.
Thirdly,
the
beneficiary
may
also
abandon
the
use
and
fourthly
the
source
used
for
the
right
may
be
depleted.
The
Water
Law
provides
that
licenses
are
given
to
exploit
water
resources.
Rights
can
be
canceled
by
operation
of
law.
Article
38
stipulates
that:
‘[l]icenses
granted
in
accordance
with
this
Law
for
drilling
water
wells
shall
be
considered
canceled
by
the
force
of
the
Law
in
the
following
events:
1-‐
If
the
licensee
fails
to
commence
drilling
works
within
one
year
as
of
date
of
issue
of
the
license.
2-‐If
licensee
uses
the
license
for
purposes
other
than
those
for
which
the
license
was
issued.
3-‐If
licensee
violates
the
conditions
of
the
license.
4-‐If
licensee
assigns
the
license
to
others
with
or
without
price
without
the
consent
of
the
Authority.
The
bylaw
specifies
the
cases
in
which
such
assignment
could
be
accepted.
The
Authority
shall
have
the
right
of
regular
review
of
these
licenses
in
accordance
with
the
system
prepared
for
this
purpose.
Based
on
justifiable
reasons,
the
license
may
be
renewed
once
for
a
period
of
3
months,
which
may
be
extended
in
the
event
of
persistence
of
such
reasons.’
Besides
the
provision
in
Article
38,
other
provisions
also
impose
conditions
for
losing
diversion
and
usufruct
rights.
Article
40,
for
instance,
states
that:
‘the
Authority
may
cease
the
right
of
utilization
if
it
is
evident
that
the
water
of
the
well
or
the
water
installation
is
polluted,
thus
harmful
to
public
health
and
the
environment,
and
the
impossibility
of
treating
that
in
accordance
with
a
laboratory
report
by
the
competent
authority.’
Chapter
8
of
the
Water
Law
on
enforcement
procedures
sets
out
the
powers
of
the
Authority
to
intervene
in
certain
circumstances.
6.6
Water
use
rights
and
sharing
water
The
following
sections
discusses
the
regulations
that
are
imposed
on
the
water
diversion
and
usufruct
rights.
Four
elements
can
be
distinguished:
(1)
Priority
of
use,
(2)
Quantity
of
use,
(3)
Places
of
use
and
sharing
and
(4)
Burden-‐sharing
among
users.
6.6.1
Priority
of
use
Shari’ah
gives
first
priority
to
water
for
drinking
and
domestic
purposes.
Within
this
priority
a
hierarchy
is
present
starting
with
water
for
human
drinking,
followed
by
water
for
animal
drinking
and
water
for
domestic
50
purposes.
Denying
to
share
water
according
to
this
hierarchy
is
often
regarded
as
a
sin
or
haram.
After
the
priority
for
drinking
and
domestic
purposes,