Water Act 1945

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Acts of Parliament of predecessor states to the United Kingdom
Acts of English Parliament to 1601 Acts of English Parliament to 1641 Ordinances and Acts (War & Interregnum) to 1660 Acts of English Parliament to 1699 Acts of English Parliament to 1706 Acts of Parliament of Scotland Acts of Irish Parliament to 1700 Acts of Irish Parliament to 1800
Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom
1707–1719 \| 1720–1739 \| 1740–1759 1760–1779 \| 1780–1800 \| 1801–1819 1820–1839 \| 1840–1859 \| 1860–1879 1880–1899 \| 1900–1919 \| 1920–1939 1940–1959 \| 1960–1979 \| 1980–1999 2000–Present
Acts of the Scottish Parliament
Acts of the Northern Ireland Parliament
Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Measures of the National Assembly for Wales
Orders in Council for Northern Ireland
United Kingdom Statutory Instruments

The Water Act 1945 (8 & 9 Geo. VI c. 41) was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, introduced by the coalition government and intended to expand and support the national water supply.

It empowered the Minister of Health to acquire land and water rights, to protect water resources against misuse, pollution and waste, and to demand information and statistics from water users.

In 1944, there were over 1,000 water suppliers in England and Wales, with 26 suppling half the volume of water used. Another 97 supplied a further quarter, and the remainder was split between 900 small undertakings. The Act did not extend as far as allowing the nationalisation of these water suppliers, but it did give the Minister power to order individual suppliers to amalgamate.