Catalogue description Records of Water Bodies

The Water Resources Board was established on 1 July 1964 under the Water Resources Act 1963 and pursuant to the Water Resources Board (Appointed Day) Order 1964.

The board's main function was to plan the development of water resources on a national basis and to guide the work of the river authorities established under the 1963 Act. This act charged the board with the duty of advising and assisting the twenty seven river authorities and keeping itself informed of any new demands on the water resources of river authority areas. Under section 12 of the 1963 Act, the board advised the Minister of Housing and Local Government, the Minister of Land and Natural Resources and the Secretary of State for Wales, with respect to the formulation and execution of a national water policy. Under section 110(3) of the 1963 Act it was also required to make an annual report to the Minister of Housing and Local Government on the performance of its functions.

From April 1965 the board was responsible to the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources, although when that ministry was abolished in 1967 responsibility reverted to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.

In addition to advising the minister on the formulation of a national water policy, the board had other duties. These included the gathering of information about potential supplies and probable future demand for water; deciding on action needed to augment supplies; securing the promotion of the schemes it recommended; and commissioning and carrying out research. It carried out a number of regional studies and examined the feasibility of new techniques (e.g. desalination), and the possibility of constructing barrages.

The board worked closely with the ministry's Water Division and Directorate, but was a separate organisation with its own headquarters at Reading, Berkshire.

The Water Directorate dealt with numerous issues relating to water policy and planning, mainly focusing on financial matters with regard to water supply, but also considered policy on water pollution.

In 1970 responsibility for the Water Resources Board was transferred to the Secretary of State for the Environment.

In April 1974 the board was dissolved following the reorganisation of water and sewerage services under the Water Act 1973. Much of the board's work passed thereafter to the newly created Central Water Planning Unit of the Department of the Environment, and the major part of its Technology Divisions to the newly established Water Research Centre.

The Central Water Planning Unit was established on 1 April 1974 when the water industry was reorganised under the 1973 Water Act. This 1973 Act provided for the establishment of a central unit with wider terms of reference than those given to the Water Resources Board under the Water Resources Act 1963.

The unit was given a wider range of duties and responsibilities than its predecessor, being concerned not only with the development of water resources but also with water quality, effluent disposal and the prevention of pollution. The unit provided a common service to the government, the National Water Council and the water authorities, its work being directed by a steering committee comprising representatives of these bodies and of the Water Research Centre. Its principal functions were to keep under review national and strategic aspects of water services planning and operations in England and Wales; to identify problems likely to arise in connection with long term developments; and to carry out or promote related studies, including the development of planning techniques.

The unit was incorporated within the Environment Protection Group of the Department of the Environment, and consisted of the two planning divisions which had made up the Water Resources Board. The Resource Planning Division was primarily concerned with the strategic planning of resources, whereas the Water Management Division provided advice on all water quality aspects, considered environmental aspects of river to river transfers and produced demand forecasting studies for all aspects of water use.

In 1979 the government announced their intention not to proceed with the establishment of a National Water Authority nor with the associated transfer of the Central Water Planning Unit. Therefore the Unit was abolished and it is possible that its duties were distributed across the divisions of Water Directorates A and B.