The Severn River Authority was one of 27 river authorities created by the

Water Resources Act 1963 The Water Resources Act 1963 (c. 38) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that continued the process of creating an integrated management structure for water, which had begun with the passing of the Land Drainage Act 1930. It creat ...

(1963 C. 38). It took over the powers of the existing Severn River Board and was given additional duties to monitor water quality and protect water resources. Under the terms of the

Water Act 1973 The Water Act 1973 (c. 37) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reorganised the water, sewage and river management industry in England and Wales. Water supply and sewage disposal were removed from local authority control, and ...

(1973 c.37), the authority was amalgamated with the

Trent River Authority The Trent River Authority was one of 27 river authorities created by the Water Resources Act 1963 (1963 C. 38). It took over the powers of the existing Trent River Board and was given additional duties to monitor water quality and protect water ...

, along with the water supply, and sewerage and sewage disposal functions, exercised by local authorities within their areas to form the

Severn Trent Water Authority Severn Trent Water Authority was one of ten regional water authorities established in 1974. Its area of operation was the catchments of the River Trent and River Severn. It assumed the powers and responsibilities of existing water supply author ...

in 1974.

Area

The area covered by the Severn River Authority was the whole catchment area of the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

and it was the second-largest in area after the Yorkshire River Authority. Although much of the catchment was in England, the Authority also exercised its powers including flood defence, in the headwaters of the river in Wales The major cities within the authority's area included

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

and

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

Organisation

The authority was constituted by Order of the

Minister of Housing and Local Government The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed following the Second World War, covering the areas of housing and local government. It was formed, as the Ministry of Local Government and Planning, ...

dated 18 June 1964

References

{{authority control Utilities of the United Kingdom River Severn