Severn Trent Water Authority was one of ten regional water authorities established in 1974. Its area of operation was the catchments of the River Trent and River Severn. It assumed the powers and responsibilities of existing water supply authorities in those catchment areas, the Severn River Authority, the Trent River Authority and the sewage and sewage disposal responsibilities of the councils within its area.[1]
It took its name from the two major rivers in this area, the Severn and the Trent.[2]
In July 1989, the authority was partly privatised under the Water Act 1989, together with most of the rest of the water supply and sewage disposal industry in England and Wales, to form Severn Trent Water, with a responsibility to supply freshwater and treat sewage for around 8million people living in the Midlands of England and also a small area of Wales.[2] The remaining regulatory and control functions such as pollution control, flood prevention and water resource management were subsumed into the newly formed National Rivers Authority.
Statutory water undertakers acquired
It took over the following public-sector statutory water undertakers:[3]
Section 12 of the Water Act 1973 stated that "where the area of a water authority includes the whole or part of the limits of supply of a statutory water company, the authority shall discharge their duties with respect to the supply of water within those limits through the company." The following two private statutory water companies continued to supply water as before within their limits as supply but only as "agents" of the water authority:
The Staffordshire Potteries Water Board was formed by the Staffordshire Potteries Water Board Act 1924 (14 & 15 Geo. 5. c. Ixviii) to acquire the business of the Staffordshire Potteries Water Works Company. It had offices in Albion Street, Hanley.[4][5][6]
The Staffordshire Potteries Water Board acquired the water supply of the Leek Urban District Council under the Leek Urban District Council Water Act 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5. c. civ). This had supplied the town from reservoirs on Leek Moor, originally by the Earl of Macclesfield under authority of the Leek Water Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. xxxvii). This private undertaking was bought out by the Leek Improvement Commissioners using powers granted by the Leek Improvement Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. cxxxii).
The Staffordshire Potteries Water Board also acquired the water supply of the Stone Urban District Council, under the Staffordshire Potteries Water Board Act 1949 (12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. xl). A bore-hole pumping station had been established on Longton Road by the Stone Local Board of Health using powers in the Public Health Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 55). A reservoir was constructed above the pumping station on Red Hill, and the system came into operation in 1890.
North West Gloucestershire Water Board
The North West Gloucestershire Water Board was formed on 1 April 1965 by the North West Gloucestershire Water Board Order 1964 (SI 1964/1895). It was made by merging the water undertakings of Gloucester Corporation, Cheltenham Corporation, Stroud District Water Board, Gloucester and Cheltenham Joint Water Board, East Dean Rural District Council, West Dean Rural District Council, Lydney Rural District Council, and Cheltenham Rural District Council.
The Stroud District Water Board had been formed by the Stroud District Water Board &c. Act 1939 (2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. lxvii) from the Stroud Water Company and the water undertakings of the Stroud Urban District Council and the Stroud Rural District Council.
The Stroud Water Company was established by the Stroud Water Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. ccxiv).
Central Nottinghamshire Water Board
The Central Nottinghamshire Water Board was formed by the Central Nottinghamshire Water Board Order 1963 (SI 1963/1332) from 11 existing water undertakings from the county borough of Nottingham; the boroughs of Mansfield, Newark and Worksop; the urban districts of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Mansfield Woodhouse, Sutton-in-Ashfield and Warsop; and the rural districts of Blackwell, Newark, Southwell and Worksop.
It took over the following main drainage authorities, which were joint boards set up to deal with the main sewerage and sewage treatment in their respective areas:
Upper Tame Main Drainage Authority
Upper Stour Main Drainage Authority
It took over two river authorities, responsible for control of water pollution, water resource management and flood prevention:
The authority also took over the functions responsible for sewerage and sewage disposal from all local authorities, including main drainage authorities, within its area; however, section 15 of the Water Act 1973 allowed district (but not county) councils to enter into agency agreements with water authorities whereby the district councils became their "agents" for the maintenance and design and construction of new sewers.[9]
Reservoirs
The company abstracted water from a number of reservoirs. These included:
It also had abstraction licences for river abstractions which included operating rules linked to storage at both Clywedog reservoir and Lake Vyrnwy although no water from those reservoirs was directly piped to supply.
↑"Severn River Authority". Hansard. 9 June 1964. Retrieved 25 September 2024. Parliament debate establishing the Severn River Authoruty from the then Severn River Board
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