On 9 December 2010, the Princess Royal officially opened the venue which is owned by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and managed by Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) under its "Better" brand.

The venue is located at Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, adjacent to the River Lee, the county border with Essex.

[3] The venue opened in late 2010 offering canoeing and rafting activities to the public ahead of the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

[7] Lee Valley Regional Park Authority hope to bring in up to £45,000 per day from visitors to offset the energy cost of pumping the water.

[8] The course is sited within a new landscaped parkland setting, including path and bridge networks to enable spectators to have access and view the events.

[2] Lee Valley White Water Centre was the only brand new London 2012 venue available for public use before the Games.

The centre is intended to provide canoeing and rafting activities for users of all abilities who will be able to take advantage of the Olympic and intermediate course.

[9] The venue is owned, funded and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority; it will join the other London 2012 venues – the Velopark, Hockey Centre and Tennis centre at Eton Manor – that the Park Authority will also own, fund and manage in legacy.

[13] A £6.3 million redevelopment project was completed in February 2014 leading to the creation of new visitor facilities and new offices and training base for the GB Canoe Slalom team.

[14] The canoe course is located within a wider parkland setting designed by U.S.-based landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates.

The RapidBlocs system allows course operators to reconfigure the placement of boulders, eddies, and rapids to meet design objectives.