The Commissions of Sewers Act 1708 ( 7 Ann. c. 33), sometimes called the Commissioners of Sewers Act 1708, was an Act of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

. It concerned the duties of boards of commissioners with responsibility for the maintenance of sea banks and other defences, which protected low-lying areas from inundation by the sea, and the removal of obstructions in streams and rivers caused by mills, weirs and gates. The word ''sewer'' had a much broader meaning than in modern usage, and referred generally to streams and watercourses. The main legislation dealing with land drainage in Britain was the

Statute of Sewers The Statute of Sewers (23 Hen 8 c. 5) was a 1531 law enacted by the English Reformation Parliament of King Henry VIII. It sought to make the powers of various commissions of sewers permanent, whereas previously, each parliament had to renew their ...

(23 Hen. 8. c. 5), which had been passed by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

in 1531, and sought to make the powers of various commissions of sewers permanent, whereas previously, each parliament had to renew their powers. Amendments had been made during the reigns of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

and

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, and this Act passed during the reign of Queen Anne was similar, in that it left the main powers of Henry's Act in place. The whole Act was repealed by section 83(1) of, and Schedule 7 to, the

Land Drainage Act 1930 The Land Drainage Act 1930 was an Act of Parliament passed by the United Kingdom Government which provided a new set of administrative structures to ensure that drainage of low-lying land could be managed effectively. It followed the proposals of ...

, although any commissioners acting under the powers of the 1708 Act were deemed to be a properly-constituted

internal drainage board An internal drainage board (IDB) is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management withi ...

under the terms of the new Act. There were 49 commissions of sewers still operative when the 1930 Act was passed.

References

Bibliography

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Halsbury's Statutes ''Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales'' (commonly referred to as ''Halsbury's Statutes'') provides updated texts of every Public General Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Measure of the Welsh Assembly, or Church of England Measur ...

'' * * (British Library reprint) Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1708 Land drainage in the United Kingdom Commissioners for sewers {{GB-statute-stub