Water Resources Act 1963

Water Resources Act 1963
Dates
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to provide for the establishment of river authorities and a Water Resources Board, to confer on them, and on the Minister of Housing and Local Government, new functions in relation to water resources in England and Wales, and to provide for the transfer to river authorities of functions previously exercisable by river boards and other bodies; to make further provision for controlling the abstraction and impounding of water, for imposing charges in respect of licences to abstract or impound water, and for securing the protection and proper use of inland waters and water in underground strata; to enable corresponding provision to be made in relation to the Thames and Lee catchment areas and certain other areas in or adjacent to London; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
Citation	1963 c. 38
Territorial extent	England and Wales
Royal Assent	31 July 1963

The Water Resources Act 1963 (1963 c.38) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that continued the process of creating an integrated management structure for water, which had begun with the passing of the Land Drainage Act 1930. It created River Authorities and a Water Resources Board.^[1] River Authorities were responsible for conservation, re-distribution and augmentation of water resources in their area, for ensuring that water resources were used properly in their area, or were transferred to the area of another river authority.^[2] The River Authorities covered the areas of one or more of the River Boards created under the River Boards Act 1948, and inherited their duties and responsibilities, including those concerned with fisheries, the prevention of pollution, and the gauging of rivers.^[3] It did not integrate the provision of public water supply into the overall management of water resources, but it introduced a system of charges and licenses for water abstraction, which enabled the River Authorities to allocate water to potential users. This included the water supply agencies, who now needed their supplies to be licensed.^[4]

Scope

The legislation made provision for a "first appointed day", on which the River Authorities would come into existence, and this was set on 15 October 1964, as a result of the River Authorities (First Appointed Day) Order 1964. A River Authorities (Second Appointed Day) Order 1964 established 1 April 1965 as the day on which the new authorities would take over the responsibilities of the previous River Boards, which would then cease to exist. The River Boards Act 1948, under which they had been established, was also repealed on that day. Under the new legislation, twenty-seven River Authorities replaced the 32 existing River Boards. As well as inheriting land drainage, fisheries and the prevention of pollution functions, the new authorities were given additional duties to monitor water quality and protect water resources. They thus became responsible for inland waters and the underground strata which existed within their area. The Act made special provision for the River Thames and Lee Conservancy Catchment Boards, enabling them to act as if they were River Authorities and their catchment areas were river authority areas. There was also special provision for parts of London, defined as the London excluded area under section 125 of the Act.^[5]

The Act consisted of 137 sections organised into ten parts. Part 1 outlined the functions of Ministers in relation to water resources. Part 2 dealt with the setting up of River Authorities and the Water Resources Board. Part 3 covered the assessment of water resources. Part 4 dealt with the abstraction and impounding of water, while part 5 dealt with charges for abstraction and impounding of water. the The powers of River Authorities in relation to land were covered by part 6, while part 7 outlined additional functions of River Authorities. Part 8 dealt with financial considerations, part 9 detailed the transfer of undertakings of River Boards, and part 10 covered miscellaneous and supplementary provisions. This was followed by 14 schedules.^[6]

While the Water Act 1945 had introduced the concept of a national policy for water, it had not provided the means to achieve one, but this was addressed by the formation of the Water Resources Board. This was a national organisation, which was independent of central government, and was responsible for the collection of data, research, and planning. Although it had no statutory powers over the River Authorities, it influenced their actions through negotiation, and was very successful in this. It produced three major reports on water resources between 1966 and 1971, in which it foresaw the need for transfers of water between rivers, and in some cases, between regions. Its final report, Water Resources in England and Wales, published in early 1974, outlined strategies for ensuring an adequate water supply for the next 25 years. In the consultation leading up to the Water Act 1973, it was argued that the Water Resources Board should be empowered to undertake major projects in its own right, but when the Act was passed, the Board was disbanded and its functions were dispersed among other agencies.^[7]

Bibliography

Legislation (1963). Water Resources Act 1963 (PDF). HMSO.
Porter, Elizabeth (1978). Water Management in England and Wales. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-21865-8.
Wisdom, A S (1966). Land Drainage. London: Sweet & Maxwell.

References

United Kingdom legislation

Pre-Parliamentary legislation	List of English statutes Charter of Liberties Magna Carta

Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain	Acts of the Parliament of England to 1483 1485–1601 1603–1641 Interregnum (1642–1660) 1660–1699 1700–1706 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland Acts of the Parliament of Ireland to 1700 1701–1800

Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain	1707–1719 1720–1739 1740–1759 1760–1779 1780–1800

Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	1801–1819 1820–1839 1840–1859 1860–1879 1880–1899 1900–1919 1920–1939 1940–1959 1960–1979 1980–1999 2000 to date Halsbury's Statutes UK Statute Law Database Short titles

Church of England measures	List Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919

Legislation of devolved institutions	Acts of the Scottish Parliament Acts and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland Orders in Council for Northern Ireland

Orders-in-Council	Order in Council

Secondary legislation	United Kingdom Statutory Instruments Scottish Statutory Instruments Act of Sederunt, Act of Adjournal

UK Water Management

Legislation	Land Drainage Act 1930 Water Act 1945 Land Drainage Act 1961 Water Resources Act 1963 Water Act 1973 Water Act 1989 Water Industry Act 1991

Organisations	Environment Agency Internal drainage board National Rivers Authority Ofwat Regional water authority River authority River board

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