Water Resources Act 1963
|
|
| Long title | An Act to provide for the establishment of river authorities and a Water Resources Board, to confer on them, and on the Minister of Housing and Local Government, new functions in relation to water resources in England and Wales, and to provide for the transfer to river authorities of functions previously exercisable by river boards and other bodies; to make further provision for controlling the abstraction and impounding of water, for imposing charges in respect of licences to abstract or impound water, and for securing the protection and proper use of inland waters and water in underground strata; to enable corresponding provision to be made in relation to the Thames and Lee catchment areas and certain other areas in or adjacent to London; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1963 c. 38 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 31 July 1963 |
The Water Resources Act 1963 (1963 c.38) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that continued the process of creating an integrated management structure for water, which had begun with the passing of the Land Drainage Act 1930. It created River Authorities and a Water Resources Board. River Authorities were responsible for conservation, re-distribution and augmentation of water resources in their area, for ensuring that water resources were used properly in their area, or were transferred to the area of another river authority. The River Authorities covered the areas of one or more of the River Boards created under the River Boards Act 1948, and inherited their duties and responsibilities, including those concerned with fisheries, the prevention of pollution, and the gauging of rivers. It did not integrate the provision of public water supply into the overall management of water resources, but it introduced a system of charges and licenses for water abstraction, which enabled the River Authorities to allocate water to potential users. This included the water supply agencies, who now needed their supplies to be licensed.
The legislation made provision for a "first appointed day", on which the River Authorities would come into existence, and this was set on 15 October 1964, as a result of the River Authorities (First Appointed Day) Order 1964. A River Authorities (Second Appointed Day) Order 1964 established 1 April 1965 as the day on which the new authorities would take over the responsibilities of the previous River Boards, which would then cease to exist. The River Boards Act 1948, under which they had been established, was also repealed on that day. Under the new legislation, twenty-seven River Authorities replaced the 32 existing River Boards. As well as inheriting land drainage, fisheries and the prevention of pollution functions, the new authorities were given additional duties to monitor water quality and protect water resources. They thus became responsible for inland waters and the underground strata which existed within their area. The Act made special provision for the River Thames and Lee Conservancy Catchment Boards, enabling them to act as if they were River Authorities and their catchment areas were river authority areas. There was also special provision for parts of London, defined as the London excluded area under section 125 of the Act.
...
Wikipedia