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Anglian Water is one of ten private water and sewerage companies established under the , which privatised the water industry in England and Wales. It took over from Anglian Water Authority.

See also

Anglian Water Authority (this section)

Website

Archives

Company records are not currently publicly available.

The Anglian Water Authority was one of the ten Regional Water Authorities (RWAs) created by the . RWAs took over existing water undertakings (especially local authority/joint board suppliers) and responsibility for licensing local authority sewerage, as well as pollution control and conservancy for rivers. AWA was responsible for part of the lower Thames river on the north side.

In 1989 it was replaced by Anglian Water under the which privatised the RWAs.

See also

Anglian Water (this section)

Archives

• There are records for Anglian Water Authority at several county archives across its region (especially records of other undertakings inherited by AWA in 1973), including:
• Bedfordshire & Luton Archives and Records Service:
• Norfolk Record Office:
• Suffolk Record Office (Ipswich Branch):

British Waterways Board was created under the to take over management of canals and inland waterways in Great Britain from the British Transport Commission (established 1947). In July 2012, British Waterways was replaced by the Canal & River Trust, a new agency responsible for 2,000 miles of inland waterways (under ).

Canals in the Thames region include: Kennet and Avon Canal, Grand Union Canal, Regents Canal, River Lee Navigation, Hertford Union Canal and River Stort Navigation.

See also

Canal & River Trust (this section)

Websites

Canal & River Trust:

Virtual Waterways Archive

Archives

holds the records of the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive and successors (ref. AN Division 4)

Waterways Archive/Canal and River Trust at , South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port CH65 4XB, tel 0151 373 4378

The Canal & River Trust was established in July 2012 to take over British Waterways (under ). It is responsible for 2,000 miles of inland waterways

Canals in the Thames region include: Kennet and Avon Canal, Grand Union Canal, Regents Canal, River Lee Navigation, Hertford Union Canal and River Stort Navigation.

See also

British Waterways (this section)

Websites

Canal & River Trust:

Virtual Waterways Archive:

Archives

holds the records of the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive and successors (ref. AN Division 4)

Waterways Archive/Canal and River Trust at , South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port CH65 4XB, tel 0151 373 4378

The Central Advisory Water Committee (also known as the Milne Committee) was established in 1937, with representatives from government departments and external bodies. Its role was to advise on the consolidation of water legislation. Under the (section 2) it was re-established to advise central government on the development of water resources nationally and on structures of governance. It was suspended for a period in 1952 to save money and later revived. Its best known reports are those produced between 1959 and 1962 by its Sub-Committee on the Growing Demand for Water (also known as the Proudman Committee, whose recommendations were partially met by the ). Allowed to lapse again in 1963 (with the creation of the Water Resources Board), the CACW was re-constituted under Sir Alan Wilson by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in 1969 to review the management of water resources in the run-up to the . It was abolished under the 1973 legislation (section 33).

Archives

See for the records of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and Department of the Environment: Water and Sewerage, Registered Files (WS Series) (Ref. HLG 127)

'Commissioners of Sewers' were the statutory local boards for land drainage and flood protection (and latterly for sewerage) from 1531 until the Land Drainage Act 1930, which created Catchment Boards and Internal Drainage Boards. An exception was the body known as the Commissioners of Sewers for the Levels of Havering, Dagenham, Ripple, Barking, East Ham, West Ham, Leyton, Walthamstow, Bromley, East Marsh, which remained formally in existence until the 1960s. Most of the area covered by this body lay in the counties of Essex, Middlesex and Kent, but parts of East Ham inside the County of London had been left untouched by the Land Drainage Act 1930.

Though its Court of Sewers last met in 1934, the Commissioners of Sewers for the levels of Havering, Dagenham, Ripple, Barking, East Ham, West Ham, Leyton, Walthamstow, Bromley and East Marsh was not formally dissolved until . And under the , their statutory powers were transferred to the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board.

Website

for more information from 'Metropolitan Essex since 1919: Local administration', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5 (1966), pp. 74-81.

Archives

(LMA) holds the records for this body from 1860 to 1941, under the title 'Havering Level Commissioners of Sewers' (Ref. HLCS).

The LMA also holds records for other Commissioners of Sewers in the London area (e.g. Greenwich Commissioners of Sewers, 1625-1847).

See also records in the .

The Company of Watermen and Lightermen is a guild founded by an Act of Parliament in 1514 to support and regulate watermen, wherrymen and bargemen. One of the ancient , it has been the principal organisation for those transporting passengers and goods on the River Thames for the past 500 years. The Company issued licences for all Thames watermen and lightermen until 2007, when this function was transferred to the .

Website

Archives

(LMA) holds the main collection of records for the Company (1688-1971) (Ref. CLC/L/WA).

The Consumer Council for Water was established in 2005 as an independent statutory watchdog under the (Section 27) to represent consumers in the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales. It replaced the earlier OFWAT consumer body, WaterVoice. Activities include representing consumer interests at national policy level, following up and monitoring customer complaints, and research and publications (e.g. willingness to pay surveys, etc). It is an executive non-departmental public body under the overall management of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body under the Welsh Assembly Government.

CCW is organised into five areas: London & South Eastern, Central & Eastern, Western, Northern, Wales. Members of CC Water regional boards sit on various panels, including the Environment Agency's river basin planning committees (e.g. Thames River Basin Liaison Panel).

See also

OFWAT and WaterVoice (this section)

Website

Archives

The National Archives holds records for CCW, including archived websites (ref. CCW; CCW Division 1). Some are publicly available already.

The Corporation of Trinity House is a lighthouse, navigation and pilotage authority founded under Royal Charter in 1514. It has long-established important connections with the River Thames and was until the the Principal Pilotage Authority for the Port of London and other pilotage districts in the UK. (). Trinity House is still the General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) for England and Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.

for an Administrative History of Trinity House on the London Metropolitan Archives website, with details of their collection.

Website

Archives

holds the main set of records for Trinity House (Ref. CLC/526)

There are miscellaneous records elsewhere (e.g. a set of early Newspaper Cuttings files from Trinity House, Deptford, is held at (Ref. A77/17)).

also holds numerous records relating to Trinity House (e.g. Admiralty records).

The Crown Estate is the property estate of the Crown run by The Crown Estate Commissioners under the terms of the . Under an arrangement dating back to the time of George III, in 1760, surplus revenues from the estate are paid to HM Treasury. The treasurer is also the 'sponsor department' for the Crown Estate.

For an account of the development of the estate and its predecessors, see the on the website of The National Archives.

The Crown Estate has a long, complex history as the part owner of the River Thames. A long-term legal dispute between the Crown and the Corporation of London over the ownership of the River Thames (its foreshore and bed) was resolved in 1856, when the Crown agreed to sell its interest in the river to the Corporation. At the same time, under the Thames Conservancy Act 1857, the Corporation's role in managing the river was transferred to the newly formed body the Thames Conservancy, with strong Corporation representation. Ownership and management of the tidal river (above Teddington Weir) was subsequently transferred from the Thames Conservancy to the Port of London Authority (PLA) under the Port of London Act 1908.

Ownership of specific parts of the river bed is still not easy to pin down. Digging on the foreshore of the tidal Thames requires a permit from both the PLA and the Crown Estate. Under the terms of the 1850s agreement, the Crown retained riparian ownership rights to the foreshore and riverbed in front of, or next to, Crown property. According to a recent talk given by a historian of the Crown Estate:

'The total area of the River Thames as measured from the estuary mouth (a straight line across the water from Crow Stone to London Stone) up river to the non-tidal section at Sunbury Well is around 1,080 hectares. The area of Crown Estate owned foreshore and bed is around 48 hectares, which works out at approximately 4.5% of the total area.' ()

The Crown Estate also owns: approximately half of the UK foreshore (the area between high and low water mark); the seabed in territorial waters around the UK coast (i.e. up to the 12 nautical miles limit). It licenses works relating to the commercial development of the UK continental shelf (under the and subsequent legislation).

See also

Thames Conservancy (this section).

Websites

• The Crown Estate:
• Port of London Authority:
• Neil Jacobson, 'A Right Royal River? The Crown Estate and the River Thames, A History', Paper given toThames Discovery Programme, 2010. Available at

Archives

• holds the records of The Crown Estate and Predecessors, 1441-2006 (Ref. CRES)
• See for the 'Thames Collection: Records of the Port of London, Thames Conservancy and Thames Navigation, 1505-1994' (Ref. CLA/037).

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) was established in January 1990 following the privatisation of the water industry (). Its role is to monitor the quality of public water supplies, to ensure that water companies meet obligations to supply 'only water which is wholesome at the time of supply' (, section 68), to investigate complaints about water quality, and to report under the terms of the EU's 1998 . It is the lead expert organisation for drinking water quality and health research for England and Wales.

The DWI was originally a team of 'technical assessors' within the Department of the Environment, its role being confirmed by the (section 86). Inspector posts and the position of Chief Inspector of Drinking Water were established under the (section 57), though the DWI remains part of Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It is funded by Defra and is responsible to Defra in England and the National Assembly for Wales.

Website

Archives

The National Archives (TNA) holds archived copies of the websites created by the DWI within the records of MAF ('Records of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), their predecessors, and of related bodies'). Other records are not currently available via TNA.

The Environment Agency (EA) was established under the as a 'non-departmental public body', funded by and responsible to the Department of the Environment, with links to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food relating to flooding, coastal defence and fisheries. In June 1997, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions took over sponsorship of the EA. Since June 2001, it has been responsible to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (at DEFRA).

The EA's key duty under the legislation was 'to protect or enhance the environment, taken as a whole' and to contribute to 'sustainable development' (section 4). The EA inherited the roles and properties of the National Rivers Authority, and of the London Waste Regulation Authority and other waste regulation authorities (for pollution control purposes). It is responsible for a wide range of regulatory functions in relation to flood and coastal risk management, water quality and water resources, ecology and conservation, climate change, fisheries, navigation (including the freshwater Thames), industrial regulation, waste regulation and contaminated land. The EA controls water abstraction licences and consents for discharges into rivers.

The EA is managed on a national and regional basis. Until early 2014 it was divided into six regions: South East Region (formed in 2011 by a merger between the Southern and Thames regions), Anglian Region, Yorkshire and North East Region, North West Region, Midlands Region, South West Region. For the purposes of river, water and flood risk management, the EA also operates through eleven key units: the 'river basin districts' (see below).

The Environment Agency is the 'competent authority' (in England) for implementing the most significant legislation for rivers of recent years: the (WFD). Introduced in 2000, the WFD was incorporated into law through (with separate legislation for Scotland and Northern Ireland). It sets targets for improving the quality and ecology of water bodies, including surface freshwater bodies (rivers, streams and lakes), groundwater, estuaries and coastal waters (to one mile from low water). All inland and coastal waters are required to achieve 'good status' by 2015. for a definition of 'good status' and other terms relating to WFD.

The EA is required under the WFD legislation to lead in the preparation and implementation of 'river basin management plans' (every six years), geared towards WFD benchmarks. The plans centre on districts comprised of groups of river basins or water catchment areas. These include six wholly within England (Thames River Basin District (RBD), Anglian RBD, South East RBD, South West RBD, Humber RBD, North West RBD), two that cross the English-Welsh border (Severn RBD, Dee RBD), one wholly within Wales (Western Wales RBD), and two that cross the English-Scottish border (Northumbria RBD, Solway Tweed RBD). Public participation is a required element in the WFD planning process. In addition to national consultations (such as the recent ), RBD plans are prepared in conjunction with key stakeholders. River Basin District Liaison Panels for each district are comprised of representatives from the water industry, Consumer Council for Water, ports, business and industry, agricultural landowners, fisheries, environmental regulators and NGOs. There is also a . Details of the Thames River Basin District Liaison Panel .

Under the , incorporated into UK law through The Flood Risk Regulations 2009, strategic planning for floods is required to be carried out at river basin level (see also the ). The EA for England (and Natural Resources Wales in Wales) are the lead authorities for 'Flood Risk Management Plans' for main rivers, reservoirs, coastal flooding due by 2015 (also on a six yearly cycle). The EA manages twelve Regional Flood & Coastal Committees, which include representatives from local authorities as Local Lead Flood Authorities (see e.g. , Anglian Eastern Regional Flood & Coastal Committee, Southern Regional Flood & Coastal Committee). The EA also undertakes strategic planning for specific flood risk areas (see e.g. and the ).

In addition to its environmental duties, the EA also has a duty to promote the use of inland and coastal waters 'for recreational purposes' (, section 6). In this capacity and as navigation authority for the non-tidal Thames, it promotes recreation and tourism on the river above Teddington Weir through initiatives such as run by the .

See also

National Rivers Authority (this section)

Website

EA Website:

Archives

hold papers (partially closed under the '30 year rule') for the Environment Agency. These include e.g. records relating to the Bathing Water Directive, National Rivers Authority, and the EA's Board and Advisory Committee (Ref. RD).

TNA also archives the EA websites.

The Essex River Board was one of thirty-two new bodies established under the River Boards Act 1948 (alongside the Thames Conservancy and Lee Conservancy Catchment Board). River Boards took over the land drainage and flood protection and duties of the catchment boards set up in 1930, and acquired additional river conservancy duties.

The Essex River Board was replaced by the Essex River Authority under the , with additional pollution control and water resources functions (including the licensing of private and public water abstractions). Essex River Authority was absorbed into the new Anglia Water Authority under the 1973 Water Act.

Archives

hold the records and inherited files of the Essex River Board (1950-65) and Essex River Authority (1965-74).

The European Union (EU) is a European-wide, inter-governmental organisation. The and Ireland joined on 1 January 1973. There are currently 27 member states.

The EU has evolved out of distinct institutions, with early developments including: the , establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC); the Treaty of Rome (1957), creating the European Economic Community (EEC); the Euratom Treaty (the second of the two Treaties of Rome, 1957), establishing the European Atomic Energy Community. The 1967 (1967) brought these 'European Communities' together as semi-autonomous units with an over-arching Commission and Council. Under the (1992), 'European Union' (EU) replaced 'European Community'. Maastricht also established the ground for the European single currency, and formulated the (the single currency, foreign and security policy, justice and home affairs), abolished under the in 2009. More information on the development of the EU and the European single market .

Today the European Commission (EC) is the EU's single executive body, based in Brussels in Belgium, with over forty departments. The three most relevant for rivers and port governance are: ; Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries; (, including ).

Since the 1970s, European member states have agreed a series of environmental directives with statutory force. These have subsequently been implemented in the UK through legislative orders (see also Timeline on this website). They include the following:

• [on the Conservation of Wild Birds]
• New Groundwater Directive 2006

Website

• Historical Archives Service of the European Commission:
• EU Website:

Archives

(subject to 30 year rule)

Historical Archives Service of the European Commission. Address: CSM1, Cours Saint-Michel, 23, 1040 Bruxelles, Belgium. Tel. +32 (0)2 299 99 66

hold the relevant UK Government papers relating to the EU and EC (eg. from Foreign and Commonwealth Office and predecessors)

Several government departments have been responsible for the River Thames and its port since 1960. In 1951 the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MHLG) took over the Ministry of Health's responsibility for water resources (conservation and distribution). The MHLG was responsible for overseeing progress towards a more cohesive water industry under the 1945 Water Act. In 1970, MHLG and Ministry of Transport merged to form the Department of the Environment, taking over water resources and rivers. In 1997, the Department of the Environment was merged with the Department of Transport to form the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). These functions were split again in 2001, with the merger of Environment with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) forming the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Defra remains in place today and oversees the work of the Environment Agency.

The ports sector was managed by the Ministry of Transport until the creation of the Department of the Environment in 1970. Transport was re-established as a separate Ministry of Transport in 1976. It was transferred briefly to the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in 2001. Then in 2002 the Department for Transport was formed as a separate body. In 2010 the Department for Transports' marine and port environment work was transferred to a new unit: the Marine Management Organisation.

Planning too has moved between numerous departments, including: the Local Government Board from 1871 until 1919, when transferred to the Ministry of Health in 1919; Ministry of Works and Buildings in 1942 (especially post-war reconstruction); Ministry of Town and Country Planning (1943); Ministry of Local Government and Planning (1951); MHLG (after the 1951 general election); Department of the Environment (1970 to 1997); Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1997-2001); Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (2001-02); Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (including the Thames Gateway development) from 2002 to 2006; Department for Communities and Local Government since 2006.

See also

Archives section of this website for more details of these departments and their archives.

The Greater London Authority was established in 2000 under the , as an executive authority run by the Mayor of London and elected representatives in the Greater London Assembly. It has four main areas of responsibility relating to the River Thames and water resources: strategic planning for the riverside; transport and recreation on the river; land drainage and flooding.

The GLA's strategic plan is formulated through the London Plan (see ; ). Since 2004, the 'London Plan' has included substantial sections on riverside planning and the use of London's rivers and waterways (referred to as the ). The Plan requires riverside) London boroughs to produce plans for for their riverside areas. The GLA has been responsible for overseeing the river passenger boat service and Thames piers as part of Transport for London (London River Services division) since 2000. It is the regional planning body responsible for the . It hosts the , responsible for which emergency planning for flooding in London. The GLA is also the lead organisation in , bringing together organisations responsible for managing surface water drainage in Greater London.

The GLA's relations with external partners and stakeholders were structured through its Thames & Waterways Steering Group and the from 2001 to 2006. These groups were replaced by in 2006. The GLA established the in 2009, bringing together the main commercial passenger boat interests on the river and the London boroughs. GLA representatives sit on a wide range of external committees, such as the Environment Agency-led .

Website

The Greater London Council (GLC) was a metropolitan authority for Greater London established under the . It replaced the London County Council (LCC), taking over an area over five times larger than its predecessor (see Port of London Act 1964 map on Maps page). It was responsible for Greater London's Main Drainage (covering around 500 square miles), sewage purification, land drainage (approximately 1040 km²: the 'London Excluded Area'), flood control for over 75 miles of Thames river bank, refuse disposal (including the Thames refuse boats), trade effluent control. Under the 1964 Port of London Act, it was responsible for pollution control on the non-tidal sections of six of the Thames tributaries (Old River Crane, New Crane/Duke of Northumberland's River, River Brent, Beverley Brook, River Wandle, River Ravensbourne). Key departments relating to the river included the Public Health Engineering Department and the Planning and Transportation Department. Departments were overseen by committees comprised of elected GLC members (e.g. Public Services Committee; Planning Committee).

The Greater London Development Plan (the GLC's structure plan: 1969) included sections on the river. These included the industrial development of the lower Thames marshes, the ongoing use of upstream docks in London for the port of London, and a commitment to use the Thames for transport (e.g. refuse transport). The sections on the river were among those revised by in the 1980s under the Labour-led Ken Livingstone administration (1981-86), with a greater emphasis on ecology. An Ecology Unit was established within the GLC's Planning and Transportation Department in 1982. The GLC Historic Buildings Division was responsible for historical surveys and industrial archaeology for London's riverside buildings, e.g. the Cutler Street Warehouses (1970s) and the Docklands History Survey (see S.K. Al Naib and R.J.M. Carr publications in Bibliography section).

The GLC were responsible for some major riverside developments including: public housing at Thamesmead on the Plumstead and Erith Marshes (site of the former Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, begun in 1967); St Katherine's Dock, sold to the GLC in 1968, which was developed as a marina with new commercial buildings including the World Trade Centre.

The GLC was abolished along with other 'metropolitan counties' by the under Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government. The Thames piers and Thames recreational functions within Greater London were transferred to TWA. Under the , TWA assumed responsibility for Thames Barrier. Thames Water Authority (TWA) took on the GLC's former land drainage functions under the . TWA's Regional Land Drainage Committee was reconstituted to combine work in Thames, Lee and the former 'London Excluded Area'. Some aspects of the GLC's work were continued by the London Planning Advisory Committee, London Ecology Unit, , London Residuary Body (disposing of GLC assets). Key GLC members and staff concerned with the continued use of the 'working river' and strategic riverside planning went on to establish the campaigning body the London River Authority/London Rivers Association (see Stakeholder Organisations on this website).

See also

for an Administrative History for the GLC on the London Metropolitan Archives website.

London County Council (this section), and Bibliography, Maps and Stakeholder sections of this website.

Archives

hold the main set of GLC records.

Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) are land drainage (or 'water level management') authorities with statutory responsibilities for low-lying areas in England. They levy annual rates payable by the occupiers of farm land and local authorities within their area (on the basis of benefits and rates). IDBs were established alongside Catchment Boards under the Land Drainage Act 1930 and replaced the earlier Commissioners of Sewers. (Internal drainage authorities for non-main watercourses, and boggy low-lying areas such as ditches, bogs, had existed, in various forms since the Land Drainage Act 1861.) Reform of the water industry culminating in the 1973 Water Act was originally intended to place land drainage fully in the hands of the Regional Water Authorities, but Internal Drainage Boards resisted absorption and remained in place.

IDBs were under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) until 1955, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Farming (MAFF) from 1955 to 2001, and the Dept for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) since 2001. Their activities are currently governed by the and .

As part of their drainage activities, IDBs have responsibility for flood protection on (non-main) 'ordinary watercourses'. Watercourses designated as 'main rivers' are managed by the Environment Agency (and in , though this is under review). The ) is currently reviewing ways to 'streamline the IDB structural reform process'.

There are approximately . There are none in the Thames region, but the River Medway has two IDBs:

: This body was established in 1934 and is based in Maidstone in Kent. It is especially concerned with lowland areas and tidal flooding (boundaries include: Cuxton, Faversham, Hoo, Isle of Grain, Isle of Sheppey, Lower Halstow, Minster, Seasalter, Sheerness, Sittingbourne, Snodland).

:

Also based in Maidstone, Kent, it is especially concerned with upland water and fluvial (rainwater) flooding (in East Peckham, Edenbridge, Forest Row, Frittenden, Groombridge, Headcorn, Lingfield, Maidstone, Marden, Paddock Wood, Penshurst, Staplehurst, Tonbridge, Yalding). It was also established in 1934, after a public inquiry into the boundaries for this IDB area. This inquiry was of particular significance because it led to the definition of an 'area of benefit' (and therefore of liability for IDB rates) in what has become known as 'the Medway Letter'. The contains this explanation of the Medway Letter definition, which has remained in place for IDBs: 'Areas of benefit were defined as those areas included in a contour line eight feet above flood level in rural areas and … in urban areas for the non-tidal districts and five feet above high tide in coastal districts'.

See also

For more information on the 'Medway Letter', see also Jeremy Purseglove, Taming the Flood: History and Natural History of Rivers and Wetlands (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), pages 68-69.

Websites

• Association of Drainage Authorities:
• Upper Medway Internal Drainage Board:
• Lower Medway Internal Drainage Board:

Archives

holds the records of the Upper Medway Internal Drainage Board (1934-52) (Ref. S/CMI).

hold relevant papers for the Internal Drainage Boards. (See e.g. under MAF Division 3, Records of Land Drainage and Flooding; MAFF, Flood and Coastal Defence Division, River and Coastal Engineering Group: Internal Drainage Board Database (MAF 407)).

The Kent River Board was one of thirty-two new bodies established under the River Boards Act 1948 (alongside the Thames Conservancy and Lee Conservancy Catchment Board). River Boards took over the land drainage and flood protection and duties of the catchment boards set up in 1930, and acquired additional river conservancy duties.

The Kent River Board was replaced by the Kent River Authority under the , with additional pollution control and water resources functions (including the licensing of private and public water abstractions). Kent River Authority was absorbed into the new Southern Water Authority under the 1973 Water Act.

See also

for an Administrative History of Southern Water Authority on the East Sussex Record Office website.

Archives

, Maidstone, holds the records of the Kent Rivers Catchment Board, Kent River Board and Kent River Authority (1776-1975) (Ref. S/KR).

The Southern Water Authority collection at include records for the Kent River Board (1950-65) (Ref. SWA15) and the Kent River Authority (1965-1970) (Ref. SWA16).

The Lee Conservancy Board was created under the Lea Conservancy Act 1868. It managed the River Lea (or Lee) from its source in Bedfordshire to the Bow Creek boundary marker above the Thames and the tributaries of the Lee (comprising a catchment area of approx 600 square miles), the Lee Navigation and (from 1911) the River Stort Navigation. Its responsibilities included navigation, control of river pollution and water abstraction. Over time the Board included members from the City of London Corporation, Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, and Middlesex County Councils, London County Council, West Ham County Borough Council, other smaller local authorities, the Metropolitan Water Board, and a representative of barge owners.

The LCB's navigation functions were taken over by the Lea District of the British Transport Commission under the Transport Act 1947, then transferred to the British Waterways Board under the . The LCB's water supply, river pollution and fisheries functions were transferred to the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board in 1947.

Archives

• Lee Conservancy Board records are held at the (Ref ACC/2423).
• There are also papers held at local record offices in the Lee catchment area, including:

The Lee Conservancy Catchment Board (LCCB) was set up under the Land Drainage Act 1930, taking from Commissioners of Sewers within its boundaries (including the area formerly assigned to the Commissioners of Sewers for the Levels of Havering, Dagenham, Ripple, Barking, East Ham, West Ham, Leyton, Walthamstow, Bromley, East Marsh). The LCCB was closely related to, though distinct from, the Lee Conservancy Board. Several LCB members sat on the LCCB, alongside members appointed by Essex County Council, Middlesex County Council, the London County Council and the Minister of Agriculture. When the navigation functions of the Lee Conservancy Board (LCB) were transferred to the British Transport Commission under the Transport Act 1947, the LCB's functions relating to water supply, river pollution, land drainage and fisheries in the River Lee catchment area were transferred to the LCCB.

The Lee Conservancy Catchment Board was absorbed into Thames Water Authority under the Water Act 1973.

See also

Commissioners of Sewers (this section)

Archives

• The main set of records the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board are held at (Ref: ACC/2558/LC)
• Local record offices in the Lee catchment area also hold relevant papers, including:
• (NRA Ref. NRA 36113 Enfield misc)

The London County Council (LCC) was established as a metropolitan county authority under the . The Thames ran for twenty-two miles across the LCC area between Hammersmith (west) and Barking Reach (east). For the LCC boundary area, see Port of London Act 1965 map (see Maps section).

The LCC had responsibility for a wide range of functions relating to the River Thames.

Land Drainage

London's land drainage and flood protection had been subject to special provision and excluded from national legislation since the drainage legislation of the 1860s. The LCC area was situated within a larger area that came to be known as the 'London Excluded Area' (approx. 1040 km²: defined in a as 'so much of Greater London, and of any area adjoining Greater London, as does not lie within the Thames catchment area, the Lee catchment area or the area of any river authority'). The London Excluded Area remained until 1986 (see 'Greater London Council (GLC)').

Sewerage

The LCC inherited the Metropolitan Board of Works' (MBW) 'main drainage system' engineered by Joseph Bazalgette in the 1860s and '70s. This conveyed wastewater and rainfall to sewage treatment works at Beckton (north of the river) and Crossness (south of river). Continuing pollution problems in the lower river in the late nineteenth century led to the establishment of the sludge vessel service in 1889, conveying sewage by boat to the outer Thames estuary (the North Sea). The main drainage system was built for the MBW area (corresponding to the later administrative County of London) but was drawn on to serve growing such as Hornsey and Beckenham. LCC sewerage created persistent pollution problems for the tidal Thames in the inter-war and post-war years, and was identified as a major source of pollution in the 1950s and 1960s. Major refurbishments carried out at Beckton and Crossness pumping stations and other installations, alongside work by the Port of London Authority, created a cleaner river by the later 1960s.

Tidal Flooding

The LCC role in tidal flood defence was governed by the and later also the London County Council (General Powers) Act 1929. The 1879 act had given powers to the Metropolitan Board of Works and London vestries, later transferred to the LCC, and obliged riverside property owners within the County of London to raise river walls to 5 feet above Trinity High Water mark (THW) (after the 1881 Thames flood, 5 feet 6 inches). Following the 1928 flooding of the Thames, the LCC laid down new regulations for stretches of the Thames in London: ranging from 5' 6" (from the LCC's eastern boundary to the River Lea's eastern bank) to 7 feet (between Putney and Hammersmith bridges) . There was no floods authority between the western boundary in Hammersmith and the river's tidal limit at Teddington.

River Pollution Control

The LCC was given powers under the Rivers Pollution Prevention Act 1876 under the (section 14). It carried out pollution monitoring from the 1890s onwards, creating a detailed set of water quality records for the tidal Thames.

Passenger Boat Services and Piers

In 1905 the LCC launched a steamboat service with a fleet of thirty paddle steamers, which failed to flourish and was wound up in 1907.

The LCC's (opened in 1889) was another service initially inherited from the Metropolitan Board of Works, connecting Woolwich on the south of the river to North Woolwich (for the Royal Docks). Paddle steamers were replaced in the early 1960s by the current diesel vessels, named after three politicians: John Burns (a Progressive Liberal LCC member and leading supporter of the 1889 dock strike, later Labour and Liberal MP), Ernest Bevin (Labour Politician, TGWU leader and the 'Dockers KC'), and (a former Labour Mayor of Woolwich). The future of the Woolwich Ferry is currently under review.

River Tunnels and Bridges

The LCC was responsible for the building of vehicular and foot tunnels under the river including: Blackwall Tunnel Act (1897), inherited from the MBW but designed by LCC Chief Engineer, Alexander Binnie; Greenwich foot tunnel (Binnie: 1902); Woolwich foot tunnel (1912). Other river structures included the 'new' Vauxhall Bridge (Binnie: 1906).

Port of London

During the debates and negotiations around the public takeover of the private dock companies in the early 1900s (e.g. Royal Commission on the Port of London, 1902), the LCC made a bid to run the Port of London. Instead the government chose to establish a public corporation, the Port of London Authority (PLA: 1909), with the LCC appointing four of the 28 members of the PLA board.

The LCC made several efforts to establish a new metropolitan authority for a larger area around London, with more powerful and cohesive administrative structures for water supply, river conservancy, drainage and port functions (e.g. 1920s and '40s). When it was in fact replaced by a larger body (the GLC), most of these functions continued to be managed by separate bodies.

See also

Greater London Council (this section); Maps section of this website.

Archives

• hold the main set of LCC records (Ref: LCC)
• LCC records relating to the river include, for example: the Main Drainage Committee (1889-1934), Rivers Committee (1894-1909), Fire Brigade & Main Drainage Committee (1934-42), Housing & Public Health Committee (1942-47), Housing Committee (1947-50), Rivers & Drainage Committee (1950-65).
• There are numerous images online of the LCC steamboats and sludge vessels.

The London Docklands Development Corporation was an Urban Development Corporation (UDC) established in 1981 by Secretary of State for the Environment Michael Heseltine (under the ) to manage the commercial redevelopment of London's docklands. Controversially, it took over the planning powers of the three main dockland boroughs: Newham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. It was wound up in 1998, when a new body, English Partnerships, took over the LDDC's remaining work in the former Royal Docks.

See also

Functions (Riverside Development and Planning) section for the LDDC and more recent UDCs in the 'Thames Gateway'; Archives section of this website

Website

Official LDDC history website:

Archives

• holds numerous records relating to the docklands re-development and surrounding debates.
• holds records for the early years of the LDDC are now available under the thirty years rule. Some of these records are being digitized (e.g. and : 'Regional Policy. Inner city policy: creation of urban development corporations to assist in regeneration of Liverpool and London Docklands'. (This is part of PREM 19: 'Records of the Prime Ministers Office: Correspondence and Papers, 1979-1997')
• For the local authority records of the three dockland boroughs:
• Newham Archives and Local Studies Library, Stratford:
• Southwark Local History Library:
• Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives:

The City of London Port Sanitary Authority was established under the Public Health Act 1872 to control the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera, typhoid and bubonic plague. It was responsible for monitoring ship crews and passengers, pest control, food and shellfish imports, and the running of hospital ships (e.g. Hygeia), and from 1883 the Port of London Sanitary (Isolation) Hospital at Denton, Gravesend.

The Port Sanitary Authority became the Port Health Authority under the . Today the LPHA still operates in the tidal Thames and its ports, and in parts of the Medway, Crouch and Roach rivers. It is managed by the Corporation of London (Department of Markets and Consumer Protection) and remains responsible for a wide range of duties, including the control of infectious diseases and pests, food standards and environmental regulations.

The Port Medical Officer of Health produced Annual Reports from 1873 to 1974, when Medical Officers of Health were abolished under the .

Websites

London Port Health Authority:

Lost Hospitals of London:

Archives

• (Ref. COL/ESD/01) hold a range of records including: Court of Common Council's Port of London Sanitary Committee; Port Health and Environmental Services Committee (Ref. COL/CC/PHS); Port and City of London Health and Social Services Committee (Ref. COL/CC/PLC); Port of London Health Committee (Ref. COL/CC/PNC); some Denton Isolation Hospital patient records for late nineteenth century and early nineteenth century (CLA/064).
• holds various files, including: MH 148 Ministry of Health and Department of Health and Social Security: Administration of Public and Environmental Health Services, Registered Files; MT 9 Board of Trade and Ministry of Transport and successors: Marine, Harbours and Wrecks Files; MT 10/1285 Board of Trade Harbour Department: Correspondence and papers
• has digitized the Annual Reports of the Port Medical Officer of Health for the City of London. These can be searched for (under Port of London) here:

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) was established in 2010 under the . It took on environmental management functions formerly carried out by the Ports Division of the Department for Transport, which remains its lead government department.

Website

The Metropolitan Water Board was a public corporation established under the Metropolis Water Act 1902 to authorise the purchase of the eight private metropolitan water companies. It had a large board comprised of representatives from the London County Council and county councils around the metropolitan area. It was absorbed into Thames Water Authority under the . The MWB headquarters at New River Head, Clerkenwell, remained the headquarters for the TWA until the 1980s.

Archives

(LMA) hold a substantial set of MWB records (Ref. ACC/2558/MW). The LMA also holds the records for the private water companies inherited by the MWB in 1904. Some MWB records have been retained by Thames Water.

TheNational Ports Council (NPC) was an advisory body established under the (sections 1 to 8). It was set up following the recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry into the Major Ports of Great Britain led by Viscount Rochdale (1961-62), though without the powers for national port planning recommended by that committee.

It was dismantled under the (section 15).

See also

for an Administrative History of the NPC on The National Archives website.

Archives

holds the records of the National Ports Council (Ref. DK 1).

The Port and River Archives at the also hold papers relating to the NPC.

The National Rivers Authority was established under the to take over the regulatory functions of the former Regional Water Authorities following privatization of the water and sewerage industries. It coordinated river conservancy and pollution control on a national and regional basis. It was replaced in 1996 by the Environment Agency.

See also

Environment Agency (this section)

Archives

• holds the papers for the National Rivers Authority (Ref. RD3).
• holds many NRA publications covering a wide range of their functions, including: drought, flood defences, fisheries, river catchment planning, water pollution, groundwater and river recreation.

The National Water Council was established under the (section 4) to provide central management services for the newly organised water industry and advise the government on national water policies. Its board members included the chairs of each of the ten Regional Water Authorities in England and Wales and those appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment. As with the National Ports Council, there were criticisms of the government's failure to delegate significant powers to this national body. It was abolished under the .

Archives

holds the records of the National Water Council (Ref. BS 19).

There has been a complex set of nature conservancy and countryside agencies since the 1940s. These have played an important role in debates over riverside and port development, and in the creation of nature reserves and other protected sites along the River Thames. This section provides a bare outline of the main organisations. There are also links to pages where further information can be obtained.

Nature Conservancy (1949-65)was an advisory government body for Great Britain established under the . It was given powers to set up National Nature Reserves (NNRs) and to designate and protect Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). It was responsible to the Lord President of the Council.

Nature Conservancy functions were transferred in 1965 to a committee within the new Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), responsible to the Secretary of State for Education and Science.

A new independent Nature Conservancy Council (1973-1991) for England Wales and Scotland was established under the . The Department of the Environment was the lead government department for the NCC.

The Nature Conservancy Council was split into three different bodies for England, Wales and Scotland under the . English Nature (1991-2006) was formed as the agency for England. The legislation also established a non-statutory advisory body for the three nations: the (JNCC).

English Nature was merged with parts of the Countryside Agency to form under the (which also reconstituted the JNCC as a statutory body).

for an Administrative History of Nature Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy Council and English Nature on The National Archives (TNA) website.

The Countryside Commission (1968-91) for England and Wales was formed under the , absorbing and expanding the role of the National Parks Commission (formed in 1949). Its role was to promote and conserve the countryside as a public amenity (including coastal regions), and to manage the National Parks set up since the 1940s. It was responsible at first to the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Secretary of State for Wales, then from 1970 to the Department of the Environment (and the Welsh Office). Under the , the Countryside Commission continued to operate in England (alongside a new ).

The Countryside Commission was merged with the Rural Development Commission to form the Countryside Agency (1991-99) under the .

In 2006, the environmental functions of the Countryside Agency were combined with those of English Nature to form (under the ).

This set of agencies has been responsible for supporting the development of the Thames Path since the 1980s (see also Thames Path).

for an Administrative History of the National Parks Commission and Countryside Commission, and a description of their historical records at TNA. And for an Administrative History of the Countryside Agency on TNA website.

See also

Stakeholder Organisations, Archives, Functions (Habitat/Eco-System) and Timeline sections of this website.

Websites

Natural England:

Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC):

Archives

holds the main collections for all these organisations. See e.g.

• Records created or inherited by the Nature Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy Council and English Nature (Ref. FT).
• National Parks Commission and Countryside Commission (1949-99) (Ref. Cou).
• National Parks Committee (Hobhouse Committee) and Wildlife Conservation Special Committee (Huxley Committee): Minutes, Papers and Reports (1943-48) and the Nature Reserves Investigation Committee (1942-45) (Refs. HLG 92, HLG 93, COU 1, COU 2).
• Countryside Agency (Ref. CA); Natural England (Ref. SW).

OFWAT is the economic regulator for the water and sewerage sectors in England and Wales. It was established under the , which privatised the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales. Among its current duties are the regulation of prices (e.g. through the five yearly Price Reviews), investment, company licensing, and oversight of companies' statutory obligations (e.g. the enforcement of leakage targets).

Initially led by a Director General of Water Services, OFWAT was transferred in 2006 to a non-ministerial government department body, the Water Services Regulation Authority (under the Water Act 2003). Its role is governed by the Water Industry Act 1991.

for a short Administrative History of OFWAT on The National Archives website.

See also

WaterVoice (this section)

Website

Archives

Some papers for OFWAT are available at .

These include: Annual Reports of Ofwat (JC 1), Consultation Papers (Ref. JC 4), Research Papers (Ref. JC 5), Occasional Publications (Ref. JC 6), Reports on Water Companies (Ref. JC 7), Periodic Reviews (Ref. JC 8), Digital Records (Ref. JC 9), Board Minutes/Papers (Ref. JC 11) and Director General of Water Services, Early Procedures Papers (Ref. JC 12).

The established the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), a non-departmental public body for England and Wales to speed up the planning process for 'nationally significant infrastructure projects'. Under the (Chapter 6) the IPC's role was transferred to the Planning Inspectorate.

The Planning Inspectorate is currently considering the Thames Tideway Tunnel.

Website

The Port of London Authority is the statutory harbour authority for the Port of London. Established as a public corporation under the , it took over the port operations of the nineteenth-century private dock companies and inherited conservancy duties for the tidal river from the Thames Conservancy.

PLA pollution powers were extended under Port of London Acts in 1920, 1964 and 1968. Under the 1973 Water Act, its pollution control and other conservancy duties were transferred to the Thames Water Authority (and Thames piers and recreation functions were transferred to the Greater London Council). The PLA ceased to function as a port operator following the closure of the upstream docks in London (complete by 1980) and the sale of the Port of Tilbury in 1992. As part of its harbour authority duties today, the PLA retains conservancy duties in the tidal river for the (working with Thames 21) and oil clearance (see ).

This includes both UK and European Union statutes, such as: Harbours Act 1964, Port of London Act 1968, Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994, Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, Habitats Directive (92/43/EC) and Birds Directive (79/409/EC), Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (97/11/EC), Surface Waters (Dangerous Substances) (Classification) Regulations 1997 & 1998, Shellfish Waters Directive (79/923/EC), Water Framework Directive (2000), Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations, 2003.

The outlines the current seaward Port Limits (under the amended Port of London Act 1968 Schedule 1) as follows:

'in general terms … the tidal Thames from Teddington, encompassing both banks up to mean high water, eastward to Foulness Point in the north and Warden Point in the south. In the estuary the limits extend from Foulness point to Gunfleet Old Lighthouse, thence to a position 3 miles north of Margate, and back to Warden Point. The port limits exclude the River Medway and certain other creeks and rivers.'

The PLA was run in the early decades by a large board comprised of representatives of shipping interests, wharfingers, Trinity House, the City Corporation, metropolitan government and trade union interests. This structure was replaced between 1967 and 1975 by a smaller managerial board appointed by the lead government minister. Its lead department today is the Department for Transport.

See also

Archives and Functions (Port of London) sections of this website.

Website

Archives

• The records of the PLA are held at the , forming the core collection of the museum's Port and River Collection.
• also hold numerous papers (government reports and correspondence) relating to the PLA.

Set up by the Environment Agency under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. Within the Thames area, the Anglian (Eastern) Regional Flood and Coastal Committee extends from the Norfolk coast to the Essex coast along the Thames estuary.

Website

The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution was a standing body established with the following remit: Labour minister Wayland Hilton Young (Lord Kennet) took a leading role in its establishment.

The RCEP published numerous reports over its forty-year life, including:

• 3rd Report: Pollution in Some British Estuaries and Coastal Waters. Cmnd 5054 (London: HMSO, 1972).
• 4th Report: Pollution Control: Progress and Problems. Cmnd 5780 (London: HMSO, 1974).
• Elizabeth Porter, Pollution in Four Industrial Estuaries: Studies in Relation to Changes in Population and Industrial Development. Four Case Studies undertaken for the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (London: HMSO, 1973).
• 8th Report: Oil Pollution of the Sea. Cmnd 8358 (London: HMSO, 1981).
• Lead in the Environment: 9th Report. Cmnd. 8852 (London: HMSO, 1983).
• Freshwater Quality: 16th Report. Cmnd 1966 (London: HMSO, 1992).
• Turning the Tide: Addressing the Impact of Fisheries on the Marine Environment: Twenty-fifth Report. Cmnd 6392 (London: HMSO, 2004).
• Adapting Institutions to Climate Change: Twenty-Eight Report. Cmnd 7843 (London: The Stationery Office Ltd, 2010).
• The RCEP was abolished in the (or 'non-departmental public bodies') under the .

See also

for an Administrative History of the RECP on The National Archives website.

Archives

• (TNA) also hold the records of the RCEP (Ref. CY).
• Digital copies of the RCEP reports since 2004 are archived online by TNA here:

Following privatisation (), the water and wastewater/sewerage services of Southern Water Authority were transferred to Southern Water Services Limited. Its area covers the counties of Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Since 1989, owners of Southern Water have included Scottish Power (1996-2002) and, since 2007, Greensands Investments Limited.

Website

Archives

Company records are not currently publicly available.

Southern Water Authority was one of the ten was one of the Regional Water Authorities (RWAs) created by the . RWAs took over existing water undertakings (especially local authority/joint board suppliers), the licensing of local authority sewerage, and responsibility for pollution control, river conservancy, land drainage, flood protection and recreation. SWA took over the duties of three river authorities – Hampshire, Kent (for the estuarial Thames above Greenhithe) and Sussex – and numerous public water undertakings.

It was replaced by the private water and sewerage company Southern Water under the .

See also

for an Administrative History of the Southern Water Authority on the East Sussex Record Office website.

Archives

The holds records for the Southern Water Authority (Ref. SWA), including e.g. 'Inherited files' (1932-74) and 'printed reports and publicity material' (c. 1974-82). The inherited files include extensive records for water and sewerage undertakings, and drainage and navigations authorities.

The Thames Conservancy was established under the Thames Conservancy Act 1857 to manage navigation and conservancy for the River Thames. This Act resolved a long-standing dispute between the City of London Corporation and the Crown over ownership of the Thames bed by vesting the river in an independent body. The Conservancy had strong Corporation representation on its large management board, alongside representatives from Trinity House, the Admiralty and the Board of Trade (interested in the Port of London).

The Thames Conservancy initially took over the stretch of the river formerly managed by the Corporation of London 'Thames Navigation Committee (since 1770): from the 'London Stone' at Staines to the sea. Its seaward boundaries were represented by a straight line drawn on the map between the mouth of Yantlet Creek in Kent to the 'City Stone' due north on the Essex side of the estuary (the 'Yantlet line'). Following the Thames Navigation Act 1866, the Conservancy's landward boundary was extended upstream to Cricklade, replacing the role of the Thames Navigation Commissioners (1771-1866). The Conservancy's role in navigation, conservancy and control of recreation on the river was extended at various stages from the 1860s onwards. Its duties variously included: channel clearance and dredging, land drainage, maintenance of locks, weirs and towpaths, the removal of flotsam and jetsam, control of fisheries, and control of pollution and sewage disposal in the river.

The Thames Conservancy Act 1894 extended the pollution control and conservancy powers of the Conservancy within the Thames catchment area above London (including all Thames tributaries), with some additional powers below London. (See Maps Section on this website for the boundaries of the Conservancy and of the Thames catchment.) The Thames Conservancy was allocated a seat on the management board of the newly created Metropolitan Water Board (MWB) in 1904. The MWB and Conservancy had to collaborate over a range of issues, including the provision of public water supplies and the maintenance of statutory flows over Teddington Weir.

Under the , the Thames Conservancy's powers in the tidal Thames were transferred to the newly established Port of London Authority (PLA): from just below the Teddington Weir to the sea). The Thames Conservancy retained its role in the non-tidal / freshwater river and the catchment area above London. Following the Land Drainage Act 1930, it took on the role of a 'Catchment Board' alongside the new bodies created across England and Wales (including the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board), with responsibility for around 3,800 square miles of the Thames catchment. The Conservancy's management board acquired new representatives over time. By 1939, there were additional members from the Ministry of Agriculture of Fisheries (later Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food), the PLA, the MWB and several local authorities. The Conservancy gained new powers over the conservation and development of water resources under the , in line with those of the 27 newly established River Authorities and the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board.

The represented a radical change in the water industry and the Thames Conservancy was absorbed into the new Thames Water Authority (TWA), but its name lingered on as the 'Thames Conservancy Division' of the TWA. The Conservancy's 1973 headquarters, Nugent House in Reading (named after Lord Nugent, its final chairman), became the Thames Conservancy Division's HQ and later the HQ of Thames Water Utilities Ltd (though this was demolished in 1999 and replaced by Clearwater Court). Navigation and river conservancy staff from the Thames Conservancy Division were employed by the National Rivers Authority after privatisation in 1989.

See also

Crown Estate (this section); Archives, Functions (Navigation) and Maps sections of this website.

William Robson, Government and Misgovernment of London (London: 1939).

Archives

holds the main set of records for the Thames Conservancy. See 'Thames Collection': Records of the Port of London, Thames Conservancy and Thames Navigation, 1505-1994 (Ref. CLA/037). This includes some of the records the Conservancy inherited from the City of London Corporation (e.g. Thames Navigation Committee, and Port of London Committee papers). Some of the LMA records are microfilm duplicates of originals held at the Museum of London Docklands, Port and River Collection).

The LMA's 'Thames Water Predecessors' Collection (Ref. ACC/2558) also hold records relating to the Thames Conservancy.

holds Thames Conservancy records that were inherited by the PLA in 1908 when taking over the tidal Thames. These include the records of the Thames Navigation Committee and Port of London Committee (sub-committees of the Court of Common Council of the City of London Corporation).

hold some publications and records of the Thames Conservancy (including Annual Reports).

online (available to subscribers from academic or public libraries) includes annual reports for the Thames Conservancy.

holds records for the Thames Navigation Commissioners (1771-1866) and the Thames Conservancy.

The Thames Path is a walking trail following the Thames for 184 miles (294 km) from its source at Kemble (Gloucestershire) to the Thames Barrier in east London. There have been calls for a walk along the old eighteenth-century towpaths of the Thames at least since the 1930s. The River Thames Society and Ramblers Association played an active part in this pressure in the 1970s. The Thames Path was designated a in 1987 and opened in 1996. It has been administered by the Countryside Commission (till 1991), by the Countryside Agency (1991-2006) and by Natural England since 2006. There are ongoing plans to extend the Thames Path from London to the sea (see web pages).

See also

Nature Conservancy & Countryside Agencies (this section)

Websites

• Thames Path:
• Walk London:
• National Trails:
• Hansard Debates online (e.g. ).

Archives

The National Archives hold the records of the Countryside Commission, Countryside Agency and Natural England.

County record offices for riparian counties also hold miscellaneous records relating to the Thames Path.

Following privatisation (), the Water and wastewater/sewerage services of Thames Water Authority were transferred to Thames Water Utilities Ltd. Its core area is the Thames river basin, including London and all or part of thirteen counties surrounding the city (). Since 1989, owners of Thames Water have included the German RWE energy group (2001-06), its current owners, the Kemble Water Ltd consortium led by Macquarie Capital Funds of Australia (since 2006), and other UK and overseas shareholders.

Thames Water is regulated under the and has a range of under national and EU law.

See also

Functions (Water Resources and Water Supply) section of this website.

Websites

Thames Water's online history:

Archives

From London Metropolitan Archives website: 'Thames Water Utilities Limited: holds records of Thames  Water post formation. Also held are photographs, glass plate negatives, further plans, map and  Works as Executed'. See ACC/2558.

Thames Water Authority was one of the ten Regional Water Authorities (RWAs) for England and Wales created by the . RWAs took over existing water undertakings (especially local authority/joint board suppliers), the licensing of local authority sewerage, and responsibility for pollution control, river conservancy, land drainage, flood protection and recreation (with exceptions for the Greater London Council area, 1974-86). TWA was the only RWA to cover a single river basin. It was replaced by the private water and sewerage company, Thames Water Utilities Ltd, following privatisation (see ).

See also

for an Administrative History of TWA on London Metropolitan Archives website.

Functions (Water supply) section of this website.

Archives

• The main set of TWA records is deposited in the (Ref. ACC/2558/TW).
• Other records relating to the TWA can be found in archives across the Thames catchment area, e.g.
• Oxfordshire History Centre (website: )
• Surrey History Centre (website: )
• Wilts and Swindon History Centre (website: )

The Water Resources Board was an influential advisory board, national planning and research unit established under the . It was responsible for overseeing the development and conservation of water resources, working with the twenty-nine river authorities in England and Wales (including the Thames Conservancy and Lee Catchment Conservancy Board). Its lead department was the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and from 1970 the Department of the Environment (DoE).

The Board oversaw major schemes of reservoir building, groundwater development and water transfers in England and Wales, and explored plans for many more. It was dismantled under the , its research functions being transferred to the Water Research Centre in 1974 and some of its planning functions to the Central Water Planning Unit of the DoE (until 1979).

See also

for an Administrative History of the Water Resources Board on The National Archives website.

Archives

• (TNA) hold the main set of records of the WRB (including reports and minutes) (Refs. AT 2, AT 3, AT 4, AT 5).
• Relevant sources can also be found in other departmental papers in TNA, such as those of the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Ministry of Land and Natural Resources, and the Department of the Environment.

The Water Space Amenity Commission was created under the (section 23). It provided advice on national and regional policies for recreational use of rivers, reservoirs and other water spaces. Its members included chairs of each of the ten Regional Water Authorities, those appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment, and other appointees subject to consultation with the Countryside Commission for England and Wales, the English Tourist Board and the Sports Council.

The Water Space Amenity Commission was abolished under the .

Archives

holds the records of the Water Space Amenity Commission (Ref. BS 19).

WaterVoice was a body established under the (then the , Chapter III etc) to represent the interests of consumers following privatisation of the water and sewerage industry. It consisted of the Ofwat National Customer Council (ONCC) and the ten Ofwat Regional Customer Service Committees for England and Wales. The watchdog took the name of WaterVoice in 2002. Under the , it was replaced by the Consumer Council for Water, which is independent of Ofwat).

See also

for a Memorandum by WaterVoice in 2003.

Office of Water Services (OFWAT),Consumer Council for Water (this section).

Archives

holds some papers for consumer representation under OFWAT, including the Regional Customer Service Committees (Ref. JC 2) and Office of Water Services National Customer Council and WaterVoice: Annual Reports (1993-2004) (Ref. JC 3).