Metropolis Water Act 1852

The Metropolis Water Act 1852[1] (15 & 16 Vict. c. 84) 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.

Metropolis Water Act 1852[1]
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act to make better Provision respecting the Supply of Water to the Metropolis.
Citation15 & 16 Vict. c. 84
Dates
Royal assent1 July 1852
Other legislation
Amended byStatute Law Revision Act 1875
Text of statute as originally enacted

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Section 1 of the Metropolis Water Act 1852 was repealed by the Water Act 2003.[6]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

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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

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References

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  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b McCarthy, Julian (15 March 2017). Kingston Upon Thames in 50 Buildings. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445656489.