Ordinary watercourses include every river, stream, ditch, drain, cut, dyke, sluice, sewer (other than a public sewer) and passage through which water flows and which does not form part of a main river.
An internal drainage board where relevant, or lead local authority has permissive powers to carry out flood defence works for ordinary watercourses at their discretion.
[2] This implies that a residual responsibility to maintain ordinary watercourses, and to report any issues with them to lead local flood authorities, (county councils or unitary authorities) rests in tort with riparian owners, that is owners of land adjoining such watercourses.
They were created following Defra's Flood and Coastal Defence Funding Review published in February 2003.
In some cases the EA has assigned their requisite day-to-day operational work to internal drainage boards and local authorities and in many cases the EA reassigned this to one or both types of these organisations, having previously taken on such work before the designation of the COW.