Somerset Water Management

The floods in Somerset earlier this year (2014) caused widespread disruption, particularly to the farming communities.  The following gives some background to the management of water within Somerset.

SOMERSET RIVERS and SEWERS

Date	Event
1531	Statute of Sewers passed, enabling the appointment of permanent Commissioners of  Sewers
1831	Nationwide cholera epidemic
1832	Poor Law Commission set up
1835	Municipal Corporations Act
1842	Edwin Chadwick's report on the Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Classes
1844	Royal Commission on 'Large Towns and Populous Districts'
1847	Nationwide typhus epidemic
1848	Nationwide cholera epidemic
1848	Public Health Act
1861	Land Drainage Act amended the powers of the Commissioners of Sewers and allowed for elected, as opposed to appointed, Drainage Boards
1869	Native Guano Co. formed in Leamington Spa to dry and press sewage to sell as manure
1869	Royal Commission on Water Supplies
1930	Land Drainage Act sets up Catchment Boards to have oversight over Main Rivers
1945	Water Act reorganised the water industry and encouraged more efficiency
1963	Water Act establishes 29 River Authorities to look after the river systems and control the use of water
1973	The Water Bill for England and Wales created 10 Regional Water Authorities with comprehensive management of the entire water cycle.
1983	Water Act restructures Water Authorities to bring them in line with nationalised industries
1989	The Water Act of 1989 allowed Local Authorities in England and Wales to sell off the water companies, who were responsible for water supplies and sewerage.  The National Rivers Authority was established with responsibility for managing water resources, pollution control, flood control and land drainage
1996	National Rivers Authority replaced by the Environment Agency

The Somerset Levels and Moors is a sparsely populated coastal plain and wetland area of central Somerset, running south from the Mendip Hills to the Blackdown Hills.  The Levels occupy an area of about 160,000 acres and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to the south are drained by the River Parrett, and the areas to the North by the rivers Axe and Brue. The Mendip Hills separate the Somerset Levels from the North Somerset Levels. The Somerset Levels consist of marine clay "levels" along the coast, and inland (often peat-based) "moors".  One explanation for the county of Somerset's name is that, in prehistory, because of winter flooding people restricted their use of the Levels to the summer, leading to a derivation from Sumorsaete, meaning land of the summer people.

Commissioners of Sewers for Somerset had been functioning from the late medieval period (setup by the Statute of Sewers of 1531) over an area of about 160,000 acres although records of their activities survive locally only from the 18^th century. A system of 'dole' work developed whereby landowners undertook allotted portions of works which were overseen by the viewers or dyke reeves who made presentments at the sewers sessions for their division.

Late 18^th century and early 19^th century schemes, eg. Axe, Brue and King's Sedgemoor Drainage, imposed further duties of maintenance of artificial streams. The responsibilities for these schemes devolved on the commissioners of sewers following the completion of works specified in the acts.

The River Tone remained under the view of the Conservators of the Tone, although from 1877 works were undertaken by the Drainage Commissioners. The Parrett Navigation Company, formed in 1836, took over navigation responsibilities for that river but was insolvent by 1860. Following the Land Drainage Act (1861) five drainage districts were set up for the Parrett hinterland, Chedzoy, Aller Moor, Stanmoor, Curry Moor and North Moor, and commissioners of sewers were appointed for the King's Sedgemoor district, thus removing it from the Langport and Bridgwater divisions.  General Commissioners for Othery, Middlezoy and Westonzoyland were appointed in 1841 under the terms of the enclosure act of 1830.

Following the Somerset Drainage Act (1877) overall control of the area of the rivers Axe, Brue and Parrett, Tone, Ile and Yeo (123,000 acres) was vested in the Drainage Commissioners. Ten new internal drainage boards were created, viz. Upper Axe, Lower Axe, Upper Brue, Lower Brue, King's Sedgemoor and Carey Valley, Bridgwater and Pawlett, Stockland, Cannington and Wembdon, West Sedgemoor and Langport. Saltmoor was also created but later amalgamated with Othery, Middlezoy and Westonzoyland.  However the Midland (Wells) and Northern (Wrington) Divisions of Sewers continued to exist after 1877

The 1930 Land Drainage Act set up an an overall authority responsible for the main rivers in each of the catchment areas, who would work closely with Drainage Authorities, who would be responsible for the internal drainage of smaller areas within a catchment. The funding for the drainage work could now be levied over a much wider area than had previously been the case.  Since the Statute of Sewers of 1531, it had only been possible to collect drainage rates from people whose land benefitted directly from the drainage works.  The new Catchment Boards could now levy rates throughout the entire catchment, not just on the low-lying parts of it, and could also levy rates on the Internal Drainage Boards within their area.  However, the 1930s were a time of economic uncertainty, and the Somerset Catchment Board was able to improve regular maintenance of the main rivers in the Somerset Levels, but would have needed to raise between £5 and £6 per acre to fund improvements. In a time of agricultural depression and falling prices, such rates were unrealistic.

The Land Drainage Act (1930) led to the creation of the Somerset Rivers Catchment Board which took over the powers of both the Somerset Drainage Commissioners and the remaining Somerset Commissioners of Sewers.  Three new internal drainage boards were created, viz. Gordano Valley, North Somerset and West Mendip.  In 1946 a board was set up for the Dunster district.

The Somerset River Board succeeded the Somerset Rivers Catchment Board in 1951 and took over river pollution prevention duties previously administered by local authorities. It also assumed the powers of the Avon Brue and Parrett Fishery District which had been created under the Salmon Fishery Act (1865). The Somerset River Board became the Somerset River Authority which was merged with the local water boards to become the Somerset Division within the Wessex Water Authority in 1974.

In charge of the rivers and sewers were:

·        Commissioners of Sewers for Somerset, 1400-1930;

·        Somerset Drainage Commissioners, 1841-1930;

·        Somerset Rivers Catchment Board, 1930-1951;

·        Somerset River Board, 1951-1960s;

·        Somerset River Authority, 1960s-1974;

·        Wessex Water Authority (Somerset Division), 1974-1996

Following on from the above, here are some monthly Rainfall reports sent in to the Somerset River Board, later the River Authority - not very exciting philatelically but demonstrating how things were measured in the 1960s and 1970s.