| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| 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. |
|---|---|
| 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 | |
| Repeals/revokes | Rural Water Supplies and Sewerage Act 1961 |
| Amended by | Water Act 1989 |
Status: Partially repealed | |
| Text of the Water Act 1973 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The Water Act 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.[1] 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.[2]
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.[3]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
textwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Water companies and the law". Water UK. December 2007. Archived from the original on 17 May 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
- ^ "The Development of the Water Industry in England and Wales" (PDF). OFWAT. 2006. pp. 12–21. Retrieved 22 January 2012.