Thames Water Authority

The Thames Water Authority was a UK regional water authority created by the Water Act 1973 to consolidate water management in the river Thames catchment area. It was dissolved in 1989 due to the privatisation of the water industry.

Predecessors

The bodies subsumed by the Thames Water Authority included the Metropolitan Water Board, the Thames Conservancy, the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board and parts of the Essex and Kent River authorities. It also took over water and sewage responsibility from the following public water suppliers in the Thames catchment:

Croydon Corporation
Epsom and Ewell Corporation
Swindon Corporation
Watford Corporation

The following private statutory water suppliers operated within its region, and in their operating areas Thames Water Authority provided sewage services only:

Colne Valley Water, Lee Valley Water and Rickmansworth and Uxbridge Valley Water merged in 1994 to form Three Valleys Water.

Dissolution

In 1989 the Thames Water Authority was partly privatised, under the provisions of the Water Act 1989 with the water and sewage responsibilities transferring to the newly established publicly quoted company of Thames Water, and the regulatory, land drainage and navigation responsibilities transferring to the newly created National Rivers Authority which later became the Environment Agency.