Metropolitan Water Board (London)
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The Metropolitan Water Board was founded in 1903 to bring the nine private water companies supplying water to London under a single public body. The members of the board were nominated by the various local authorities within its area of supply. A Royal Commission had reported in 1899 on the need for such controls.
The board was abolished in 1974 and control transferred to the Thames Water Authority, now Thames Water.
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[edit] Formation
The board was created by the The Metropolis Water Act 1902 (2 Edw.7, c.41). The board as originally constituted in the Act had 67 members; 65 of these were nominated by local authorities, who appointed a paid chairman and vice-chairman. The nominating bodies were:
- In the County of London: 14 members nominated by the London County Council, 2 members by the City of London, 2 by the City of Westminster and 1 member by each of the remaining 27 metropolitan boroughs.
- In Essex: - 1 member nominated by Essex County Council, 1 member by West Ham County Borough and 4 members nominated by 9 Urban District Councils.
- In Kent: - 1 member nominated by Kent County Council, and 1 member jointly nominated by 8 Urban District Councils.
- In Middlesex: - 1 member nominated by Middlesex County Council, and 6 members nominated by the borough of Ealing and 17 Urban District Councils.
- In Surrey: 1 member nominated by the Surrey County Council, and one nominated jointly by the Borough of Richmond and 7 Urban District Councils.
- In Hertfordshire: - 1 member nominated by Hertfordshire County Council.
- 1 member of the Conservators of the River Thames.
- 1 member of the Lee Conservancy Board.
The first Metropolitan Water Board retired on 1st June 1907, with a new board being nominated every three years thereafter. As local government changes took place, the nominating bodies changed.
[edit] Undertakings acquired
The board compulsorily acquired the following water companies:
- The New River Company
- The East London Waterworks Company
- The Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company
- The Company of Proprietors of the West Middlesex Waterworks
- The Company and Proprietors of Lambeth Waterworks
- The Governor and Company of Chelsea Waterworks
- The Grand Junction Waterworks Company
- The Staines Reservoirs Joint Committee
Also acquired at no cost were the water undertakings of Tottenham and Enfield Urban District Councils
[edit] Area of the board
The board's area, described as its "Limits of Supply" was considerably larger than the administrative County of London: 559 square miles as opposed to 116 square miles. The limits were to be the same as the area supplied by the various undertakings acquired with the addition of the parishes of Sunbury, Middlesex and Chessington, Surrey. It comprised the entire county of London and much of Middlesex, with outer boundaries at Cheshunt in Hertfordshire, Loughton and East Ham in Essex, Dartford and Foots Cray in Kent, and Malden, Surbiton, Esher and Kingston upon Thames in Surrey. The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica described " Water London " as an irregular area extending from Ware in Hertfordshire to Sevenoaks in Kent, and westward as far as Ealing and Sunbury.
[edit] Final Years (1965 – 1974)
Upon the reorganization of local government in Greater London in 1965, the Board’s constitution was amended by the London Government Order 1965 (SI 1965/654) and from 1st November 1965 until its abolition on 1st April 1974, the Board had 39 members, appointed by the constituent authorities, as following:-
The Greater London Council appointed 6 members, while the Common Council of the City of London, 26 of the London Borough Councils, the County Councils of Essex, Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire, the Thames Conservancy and the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board all appointed one member each.
While there were a number of local authorities wholly or partly within the Board’s area which were not directly represented on the Board, they were indirectly represented through either the Greater London Council or appropriate County Council.
The term of office of members of the Board was three years. The chairman and vice-chairman were elected by the Board on an annual basis.
[edit] Abolition
The various public water boards and local authority water undertakings in England and Wales were reorganised by the Water Act 1973. Ten large Water Authorities were established based on river basins and catchment areas. Accordingly, in 1974, the assets of the Metropolitan Water Board passed to the Thames Water Authority governed by a 60 person board, and covering the area from the source of the Thames in Wiltshire to the Thames Estuary.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- London's Water Supply 1903-1953. A Review of the Work of the Metropolitan Water Board. Edited by W. S. Chevalier Clerk of the Board. Published by the Board in 1953
- The Water Supply of London. Edited by S. D. Askew Clerk of the Board. Published by the Board in 1961
- Metropolis Water Act 1902
- A brief description of the Undertaking with Notes on the Works at Ashford Common, Hampton, Walton, Stoke Newington and Deptford published by the MWB in 1965
