The Welsh National Water Development Authority (WNWDA) (''Awdurdod Cenedlaethol Datblygu Dwr Cymru'' in
Welsh) and later the Welsh Water Authority was one of ten
regional water authorities set up in the
UK and came into existence on 6 August 1973 with its headquarters in
Brecon
Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...
by virtue 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 ...
. It took over the sewerage and sewage disposal responsibilities of the local authorities within its area, the roles and responsibilities of the six existing River Authorities in Wales and most of the water supply undertakings. The authority was dissolved in 1989 as part of the
privatisation of the water industry.
Remit
It brought together all the
sewage disposal
Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...
and
sewerage
Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff ( stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and scr ...
functions from the following local authorities:
* Anglesey County Council
* Cardiff County Borough Council
* Carmarthen Borough Council
* Carmarthen Rural District Council
* Ceiriog Rural District Council (within catchment area of the River Dee)
* Cwmamman Urban District Council
* Llandeilo Urban District Council
* Llandeilo Rural District Council
* Llandovery Borough Council
* Maelor Rural District Council
* Wrexham Rural District Council.
It took over the
water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...
functions previously held by
local authorities
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state.
Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
in
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
which were:
* (Eryri Water Board)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* {{visible anchor, West Glamorgan Water Board
Private water companies such as
Chester Water and
Wrexham Water Company were excluded and continued in operation.
It also subsumed all the functions of the six
river authorities in Wales – the
Wye River Authority, the
Usk River Authority, the
Glamorgan River Authority, the
South West Wales River Authority, the
Gwynedd River Authority and the
Dee and Clwyd River Authority. The boundary of WNWDA was identical to that of the constituent river authorities and included parts of England in both the
River Wye
The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...
and
River Dee catchments.
Organisation
At inception, WNWDA was organised in units that broadly reflected the originating business. Thus sewerage and sewage disposal was organised into a number of sewage divisions, water supply was similarly formed into a number of water divisions and river divisions exactly matching the roles and boundaries of the previous river authorities were created.
In 1984 a major re-structuring brought all the functions together in three multidisciplinary divisions, with a headquarters in
Brecon
Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...
. These were the South Eastern Division based in
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, South Western Division based in
Haverfordwest
Haverfordwest ( , ; ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a Community (Wales), community consisting of 12,042 people, making it the secon ...
, the Northern Division based in
Bangor. There were sub-offices located in Hereford, Monmouth, Swansea, Lampeter, Caernarfon and Mold. At the time of this re-organisation the name of the authority changed to Welsh Water Authority.
Governance
The authority was governed by a board which included representatives from local authorities, central government and the major industries in Wales including agriculture. The chairman appointed by the government of the day was
Lord Brecon but he was replaced by T. M. Haydn Rees in 1976
National Archives - Papers of T M Haydn Rees
/ref> and then by John Elfed Jones in 1982.
Privatisation
In 1989 the water supply, sewerage, and sewage disposal functions of the authority were privatised to form Welsh Water
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, of or about Wales
* Welsh language, spoken in Wales
* Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales
Places
* Welsh, Arkansas, U.S.
* Welsh, Louisiana, U.S.
* Welsh, Ohio, U.S.
* Welsh Basin, during t ...
with the regulatory and control functions passing to the newly created National Rivers Authority
The National Rivers Authority (NRA) was one of the forerunners of the Environment Agency of England and Wales, existing between 1989 and 1996.
Before 1989 the regulation of the aquatic environment had largely been carried out by the ten region ...
.
References
Water supply and sanitation in Wales
Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom
Water management authorities in the United Kingdom