Powers and duties with regard to dangerous, stagnant or insanitary sources of water supply

(1) The municipal council may at any time by written notice require that the owner of, or any person who has the control over, any well, stream, channel, tank or other source of water supply shall, whether it is private property or not,— (a) keep and maintain any such source of water supply, other than a stream, in good repair, or (b) within a reasonable time to be specified in the notice, cleanse any such source of water supply from silt, refuse and decaying vegetation, or (c) in such manner as the municipal council prescribes, protect any such source of water supply from pollution by surface drainage, or (d) within twenty-four hours of such notice, repair, protect or enclose in such manner as the municipal council approves any such source of water supply, other than a stream in its natural flow, if for want of sufficient repair, protection or enclosure, such source of water supply is, in the opinion of the municipal council, dangerous to the health or safety of the public or of any persons having occasion to use or to pass or approach the same, or (e) desist from using and from permitting others to use for drinking purposes any such source of water supply which, not being a stream in its natural flow, is proved to the satisfaction of the municipal council to be unfit for drinking, or (f) if, notwithstanding any such notice under clause (e), such use continues and cannot, in the opinion of the municipal council, be otherwise prevented, close either temporarily or permanently or fill up or enclose or fence in such manner as the municipal council considers sufficient to prevent such use, such source of water supply as aforesaid, or (g) drain off or otherwise remove from any such source of water supply, or from any land or premises or receptacle or reservoir attached or adjacent thereto, any stagnant water which the municipal council considers is injurious to health or offensive to the neighbourhood. (2) If the owner or person having control as aforesaid fails or neglects to comply with any such requisition within the time required by or under the provisions of sub-section (1), the municipal council may, and if, in its opinion, immediate action is necessary to protect the health or safety of any person, shall at once, proceed to execute the work required by such notice, and all the expenses incurred therein by the municipal council shall be paid by the owner of, or person having control over, such water supply, and shall be recoverable in the same manner as an amount claimed on account of any tax recoverable under Chapter VII: Provided that, in the case of any well or private stream or of any private channel, tank or other source of water supply, the water of which is used by the public or by any section of the public as of right, the expenses incurred by the municipal council, or necessarily, incurred by such owner or person having such control, may, if the municipal council so directs, be paid from the municipal fund.