Metropolitan Water Board

and four to the south of the river

The Lambeth Waterworks Company, incorporated 1785

The Kent Waterworks Company, incorporated 1809

The Southwark Water Company, incorporated around 1760

The Vauxhall Water Company, incorporated 1805

Following complaints, a royal commission was set up in 1827 to investigate the quality of supply. The commission found that the water was of poor quality and cleanliness, and was in need of improvement. A select committee endorsed this view in 1828 and recommended that a scheme should be devised by Thomas Telford, to supply the whole metropolis with clean water. Telford reported in 1834, and despite several outbreaks of cholera, little action was taken until the Metropolis Water Act 1852 (15 & 16 Vict. c. 84) introduced regulation of the supply companies; including minimum standards of water quality for the first time. A further royal commission reported in 1869 and recommended that the supply should be taken into public management. The Metropolis Water Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. c. 113) introduced further regulation, but fell short of taking the supply into public control. In the meantime the corporations of major provincial towns such as Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds began operating their own municipal supplies. The Metropolitan Board of Works promoted several unsuccessful bills between 1878 and 1886 which would have allowed them to offer a municipal water supply; with a further eight bills promoted by the London County Council in 1895. During the course of a further series of commissions, set against the backdrop of continuing supply problems, the county councils of Middlesex, Essex, Kent and Surrey indicated they would not accept any scheme which allowed the London County Council authority over their areas in respect of water supply. It was therefore decided that the Metropolitan Water Bill would create an entirely new body to supply water to the greater London area.

Formation

The board was created by the provisions of the Metropolis Water Act 1902 (2 Edw. 7. c. 41). The board, which first met on 2 April 1903, 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 1 June 1907, with a new board being nominated every three years thereafter. As local government changes took place, the nominating bodies changed.

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 1 November 1965 until its abolition on 1 April 1974, the board had 39 members, appointed by the constituent authorities:

The Greater London Council appointed six 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.