Metropolis Water Act 1852

Last updated

Metropolis Water Act 1852 [1]
Act of Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Long title An Act to make better Provision respecting the Supply of Water to the Metropolis.
Citation 15 & 16 Vict. c. 84
Dates
Royal assent 1 July 1852
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Metropolis Water Act 1852 [1] was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which introduced regulation of water supply companies in London ("the Metropolis"), including minimum standards of water quality for the first time.

Contents

The Act was enacted in order to "make provision for securing the supply to the Metropolis of pure and wholesome water." Under the Act, it became unlawful for any water company to extract water for domestic use from the tidal reaches of the Thames after 31 August 1855, and from 31 December 1855 all such water was required to be "effectually filtered". [2]

The Metropolis Water Act 1852 was followed by four more Metropolis Water Acts enacted over the next 50 years: the Metropolis Water Act 1871, the Metropolis Water Act 1897, [3] the Metropolis Water Act 1899, [4] and the Metropolis Water Act 1902. [5]

Section 1 of the Metropolis Water Act 1852 was repealed by the Water Act 2003. [6]

Compliance

The Lambeth Waterworks Company was amongst the first to comply with the act; they were ahead of the act, having decided to move their waterworks to Seething Wells in 1847. [7] The Chelsea Waterworks Company was the last; they relocated in 1856. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Navigation</span> Canalised river in Hertfordshire and London, England

The Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating the River Lea. It flows from Hertford Castle Weir to the River Thames at Bow Creek; its first lock is Hertford Lock and its last Bow Locks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slow sand filter</span> Water purification device

Slow sand filters are used in water purification for treating raw water to produce a potable product. They are typically 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) deep, can be rectangular or cylindrical in cross section and are used primarily to treat surface water. The length and breadth of the tanks are determined by the flow rate desired for the filters, which typically have a loading rate of 200–400 litres (0.20–0.40 m3) per square metre per hour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seething Wells</span> Human settlement in England

Seething Wells is a neighbourhood in southwest London on the border between Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in Greater London, and Elmbridge in Surrey. The area was historically a waterworks that supplied London with water from the River Thames. Nowadays it is mainly a residential area, with the notable exception of decommissioned filter beds — the Seething Wells Filter Beds — in the northwest part of the area that borders the Thames.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chancellor of the High Court</span> Head of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales

The Chancellor of the High Court is the head of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. This judge and the other two heads of divisions sit by virtue of their offices often, as and when their expertise is deemed relevant, in a panel in the Court of Appeal. As such this judge ranks equally to the President of the Family Division and the President of the King's Bench Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Water Board</span> Public utility supplying water to London 1903–1974

The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functions from the eight private water companies which had previously supplied water to residents of London. The board oversaw a significant expansion of London's water supply infrastructure, building several new reservoirs and water treatment works.

Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, commonly known as the Labouchere Amendment, made "gross indecency" a crime in the United Kingdom. In practice, the law was used broadly to prosecute male homosexuals where actual sodomy could not be proven. The penalty of life imprisonment for sodomy was also so harsh that successful prosecutions were rare. The new law was much more enforceable. Section 11 was repealed and re-enacted by section 13 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956, which in turn was repealed by the Sexual Offences Act 1967, which partially decriminalised male homosexual behaviour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molesey Lock</span> Lock on the River Thames in Surrey, England

Molesey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England at East Molesey, Surrey on the right bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London water supply infrastructure</span>

London's water supply infrastructure has developed over the centuries in line with the expansion of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelsea Waterworks Company</span> Water company supplying London, 1723–1902

The Chelsea Waterworks Company was a London waterworks company founded in 1723 which supplied water to many central London locations throughout the 18th and 19th centuries until its functions were taken over by the Metropolitan Water Board in 1904.

The Thames Gateway Water Treatment Works or Beckton Desalination Plant is a desalination plant in Beckton, London, adjacent to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. The plant takes brackish water from the River Thames and converts it into drinkable water through a reverse osmosis process. The first of its kind in the UK, it was built for Thames Water by a consortium of Interserve, Atkins Water and Acciona Agua. It was opened by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on 2 June 2010. It was planned to provide up to 150 million litres of drinking water each day – enough for 900,000 Londoners. – but by 2023 had only operated on three occasions, and at two-thirds of its planned capacity.

Joseph Quick was an English civil engineer who was closely involved in improvements to supply piped water in the great industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Both his father and his son were also waterworks engineers by the name Joseph Quick.

The Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south London in England. The company was formed by the merger of the Southwark and Vauxhall water companies in 1845 and became part of the publicly owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1904.

The Grand Junction Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of west London in England. The company was formed as an offshoot of the Grand Junction Canal Company in 1811 and became part of the publicly owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1904.

The Lambeth Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south London in England. The company was established in 1785 with works in north Lambeth and became part of the publicly owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1904.

The West Middlesex Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of west London in England. The company was established in 1806 with works at Hammersmith and became part of the publicly owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1904.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SES Water</span> British water supply company

SES Water is the UK water supply company to its designated area of east Surrey, West Sussex, west Kent and south London serving in excess of 282,000 homes and businesses and a population of approximately 675,000 people.

The history of water filters can be traced to the earliest civilisations with written records. Water filters have been used throughout history to improve the safety and aesthetics of water intended to be used for drinking or bathing. In modern times, they are also widely used in industry and commerce. The history of water filtration is closely linked with the broader history of improvements in public health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolwich (parish)</span>

Woolwich, also known as Woolwich St Mary, was an ancient parish containing the town of Woolwich on the south bank of the Thames and North Woolwich on the north bank. The parish was governed by its vestry from the 16th century to 1852, based in the Church of St Mary until 1842, after which in the purpose-built Woolwich Town Hall. The parish adopted the Public Health Act 1848 and was governed by the Woolwich Local Board of Health from 1852. When the parish became part of the district of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 the local board was treated as if it were an incorporated vestry. It was in the county of Kent until it was transferred to London in 1889. In 1900 it was amalgamated with other parishes to form the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich and had only nominal existence until it was abolished as a civil parish in 1930. Since 1965 it has been split between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Newham.

Essex and Suffolk Water is a water supply company in the United Kingdom. It operates in two geographically distinct areas, one serving parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, and the other serving parts of Essex and Greater London. The total population served is 1.8 million. Essex and Suffolk is a 'water only' supplier, with sewerage services provided by Anglian Water and Thames Water within its areas of supply. It is part of the Northumbrian Water Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton Water Treatment Works</span> A water treatment works in Hampton, London

Hampton Water Treatment Works are water treatment works located on the River Thames in Hampton, London. Built in the second half of the 19th Century to supply London with fresh water, the Waterworks was in the past a significant local employer, and its brick pumphouses dominate the local landscape. The Waterworks are currently owned and operated by Thames Water, occupying a 66 ha site located between the Upper Sunbury Road (A308) and the River Thames. The Waterworks currently has a maximum output of 700 megalitres a day, and supplies ~30% of London's fresh water.

References

  1. 1 2 This short title was conferred on this Act by section 28 of this Act.
  2. An Act to make better Provision respecting the Supply of Water to the Metropolis, (15 & 16 Vict. C.84)
  3. "THE LONDON GAZETTE, NOVEMBER 20, 1900" (PDF). The London Gazette. 1900. p. 7331. Retrieved 4 September 2013.[ dead link ]
  4. "HANSARD 1803–2005: Acts". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  5. "SOUTHWARK AND VAUXHALL WATER COMPANY: corporate records, ref. ACC 2558". The National Archives. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  6. "Water Act 2003; Introduction". The National Archives. 2003.
  7. 1 2 McCarthy, Julian (15 March 2017). Kingston Upon Thames in 50 Buildings. Amberley Publishing. ISBN   9781445656489.