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Essex River Boards and Authorities

The Rivers of the County of Essex, England have been managed and controlled by a number of statutory bodies since 1931. These have variously aimed to ensure the effective drainage of water courses; ascertain accurate flowrates; manage, measure and control pollution; regulate the abstraction and impounding of water; manage the treatment and supply of water; and manage sewage treatment and disposal.

Background
Regulation before 1931 Prior to 1931 the legislation on land drainage was piecemeal and comprised mainly local acts. The principal agents for regulating land drainage was the Commissioners of Sewers for Essex together with Sewer Commissioners for various parishes and districts. Although the administrative bodies had sufficient legal powers to manage the drainage of low-lying areas, they did not have sufficient resources to do this effectively. A Royal Commission on land drainage (the Bledisloe Commission, 1927) found the existing legislation to be "vague and ill-defined, full of anomalies, obscure, lacking in uniformity, and even chaotic." • Asheldham brookRiver BeamRiver BlackwaterRiver Braine • River CamRiver CanRiver ChelmerRiver ColneRiver Crouch • Holland Brook • IngrebourneRiver Lea/Lee • MardykeRiver PantRiver RoachRiver RodingRiver RomRoman River • Sixpenny/Tenpenny Brooks • River StortRiver StourRiver TerRiver ThamesRiver Wid == Boards and Authorities ==
Boards and Authorities
Essex River Catchment Board The Essex River Catchment Board (1931–1950) was established in 1931 under the provisions of the Land Drainage Act 1930 (20 & 21 Geo. 5. c. 44). The Act provided for new administrative structures to ensure that the drainage of water courses could be effectively managed. Lieut-Col. A J R Waller was chairman up to 1950. Catchment Board established a number of internal drainage districts in Essex in the 1930s. These were: • Brooklands Internal Drainage District • Canvey Island Internal Drainage District • Chelmer and Blackwater Drainage District • River Colne Internal Drainage District • Dengey Internal Drainage District • Fobbing Internal Drainage District • Hamford Water Internal Drainage District • Lower Crouch and Roach Drainage District • Maldon, Wivenhoe and Clacton Internal Drainage District • Mundon and Latchingdon Internal Drainage District • North Fambridge Internal Drainage District • Pitsea Internal Drainage District • Rainham Internal Drainage District • Ramsey River Drainage District • Ripple Internal Drainage District • River Stour Internal Drainage District • River Stour Estuary Drainage District • Tendering Internal Drainage District • Upper Crouch Internal Drainage District The Essex River Catchment Board was abolished in 1950 when responsibility for the Essex Rivers passed to the newly established Essex River Board. Essex River Board The Essex River Board (1950–1965) was established in 1950 under the provisions of the River Board Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 32). During the 1930s data on river flow rates and water quality were found to be inadequate. Proposed legislation to address the issue was delayed by the Second World War but was enacted as the River Board Act 1948. The Act transferred the legal powers of the River Catchment Boards to the River Boards. It provided the legal, financial and administrative structures for the river boards, which were responsible for the management of river board areas. The chairman of the Board (1958–1963) was Russell H R Davey. The Essex River Board was abolished in 1965 when responsibility for the Essex Rivers passed to the Essex River Authority. Essex River Authority The Essex River Authority (1965–1974) was established 1965 under the provisions of the Water Resources Act 1963 (c. 38). The Act provided for the establishment of River Authorities (including the Essex River Authority) and an overarching Water Resources Board. These included works to enable the South Essex Waterworks Company to abstract water from the River Stour. The Essex River Catchment Board and its predecessors had established a number of internal drainage districts in the 1920s and 1930, see above. By 1972 the Essex River Authority found these districts were impairing its efficient operation and obtained the Essex River Authority Act 1972 (c. 39) Anglian Water Authority The Anglian Water Authority (1974–1989) was formed in 1974 under the provisions of the Water Act 1973 (c. 37) as one of the regional water authorities. The Act made provision for a national policy for water and for managing sewerage and sewage disposal, for fisheries and land drainage, and for recreation and amenity. The first Chairman was Allan E. Skinner (1974–1978), then Alexander Morrison (1978–1981), and Bernard Henderson (1981–1989). As constituted in 1973 the Authority comprised the chairman and 28 members, 14 of which were appointed by local authorities. The Anglian Water Authority was abolished in 1989 as part of the privatisation of the water industry which established Anglian Water and the National Rivers Authority. It assumed the remaining functions of the Water Authorities including flood control; water quality management; pollution control; and water resource management. The National Rivers Authority was subsumed into the Environment Agency in 1996. == Timeline ==
Timeline
A summary timeline of the statutory bodies with responsibilities for managing the Essex rivers is as follows. == See also ==
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