Water Act 1973
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| Long title | An Act to make provision for a national policy for water, for the conferring and discharge of functions as to water (including sewerage and sewage disposal, fisheries and land drainage) and as to recreation and amenity in connection with water, for the making of charges by water authorities and other statutory water undertakers, and for connected purposes. |
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| Citation | 1973 c. 37 |
| Introduced by | Geoffrey Rippon |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 18 July 1973 |
| Commencement | 1 April 1974 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Water Act 1989 |
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Status: Repealed
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The Water Act 1973 (1973 c.37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reorganised the water, sewage and river management industry in England and Wales. Water supply and sewage disposal were removed from local authority control, and ten larger regional water authorities were set up, under state control based on the areas of super-sets of river authorities which were also subsumed into the new authorities. Each regional water authority consisted of members appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment, and by the various local authorities in its area.
The Act also established a National Water Council. This body consisted of a chairman nominated by the minister, the chairmen of each regional authority and not more than ten additional members nominated by the government. The Council's duties included implementing national water policy, assisting the ten regional authorities in matters of joint concern, and setting and enforcing national regulations and byelaws on water quality and conservation.
The 1973 Act was another step towards an integrated policy of water management, which like much of the previous legislation, was restricted to England and Wales, with Northern Ireland and Scotland being specifically excluded. The concept of a unified authority with responsibility for all of the water-related functions within a river basin or series of river basins was not new. The Duke of Richmond introduced a river conservancy bill into Parliament in 1878, and the Council of the Society of Arts was prepared to award medals to those who could devise suitable watershed districts to aid such conservancy. Frederick Toplis received a silver medal for his plan to create 12 watershed districts, each run by commissioners, who would have powers to acquire all of the waterworks within their area, and to manage both them and the rivers for water supply and the prevention of flooding and pollution. He saw the need for each to be supported by competent legal advisers and engineers. His watershed districts were remarkably similar to the water authorities created under the 1973 Act, but quite different to those of the other five entrants whose plans were also published at the time. The only bodies which were responsible for a range of water management functions were the Thames Conservancy, created in 1857, and the Lee Conservancy Board, created in 1868.
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