The Rivers of the County of Essex, England have been managed and controlled by a number of statutory bodies since 1931.
Prior to 1931 the legislation on land drainage was piecemeal and comprised mainly local acts.
The Act provided for new administrative structures to ensure that the drainage of water courses could be effectively managed.
[1] The Act established 47 catchment boards with overall responsibility for each main river system in England and Wales.
Proposed legislation to address the issue was delayed by the Second World War but was enacted as the River Board Act 1948.
[6] The legal powers of the existing river boards and authorities (Essex River Board) were transferred to the new Authorities together with new functions such as controlling the abstraction and impounding of water, and charging for licences for abstraction.
There was at least one member qualified in each of: land drainage; fisheries; agriculture; public water supply; and industry.
[10] 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.
The only chairman (1964–1974) of the Water Resources Board was Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode.
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.
[16] It assumed responsibility for water treatment and supply, and sewerage and sewage disposal.