# Water (Scotland) Act 1967

The Water (Scotland) Act 1967 (c. 78) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reorganised the water supply industry in Scotland, by creating regional water boards to manage the treatment and supply of water to consumers, and a Central Scotland Water Development Board, which was responsible for developing new sources of water, and supplying that water to the regional water boards in bulk.

## Background

In 1945, there were 210 separate water authorities in Scotland, and no statutory requirement that communities should be supplied with a drinkable water supply. This changed when the Water (Scotland) Act 1946 (9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 42) was passed by the UK government, which mandated local authorities to provide such a supply.

## Legislation

The 1967 act was the first major attempt to consolidate the large numbers of small water authorities into larger units. 13 regional water boards were created, which were independent of the local government structures, although the members of the Board were always drawn from the local authorities which they served. They were responsible for water supply only, and the disposal and treatment of sewage would remain fragmented for some years yet. On a technical level, the new structures worked well, but their finance had not been thought through, and were less than satisfactory. Central government controlled the finances through local government. The Scottish Office was responsible for supervising the new boards, but the setting of tariffs and charges was still handled by local authorities.
The act also recognised that, as requirements for water continued to increase, even regional water boards would struggle to finance the provision of new sources of water, and so the Central Scotland Water Development Board was set up, with a mandate to develop new sources of supply, and to sell such water to the Boards within their area. This included the Water Boards for Borders, Central, Fife, Strathclyde, Tayside, and Lothian which included Edinburgh, and accounted for 86 per cent of the Scottish population.
With the passing of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, larger regions were created, and responsibility for water supply passed from the regional water boards to the nine regional councils of Highland, Grampian, Tayside, Fife, Lothian, Borders, Central, Strathclyde, and Dumfries and Galloway. A tenth Island Area included Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles, although they continued to act independently. The regional councils were also given responsibility for sewage treatment, which prior to that time had been handled by 234 separate organisations. The 1967 act remained in force until it was repealed from 1 April 1996, as a result of the passing of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.

### Boards

A total of 13 regional water boards were created, taking over responsibility for water supply from existing county councils, town councils, corporations, district water boards, and joint water committees. The boards were as follows.
Water boards established by the act :
| Water board | Type of authority | Authority taken over |
| Argyll Water Board | County council | Argyll |
| Argyll Water Board | Town Council | Campbeltown, Dunoon, Inveraray, Lochgilphead, Oban, Tobermory |
| Ayrshire and Bute Water Board | County council | Ayr, Bute |
| Ayrshire and Bute Water Board | Town council | Ardrossan, Ayr, Cumnock and Holmhead, Darvel, Galston, Girvan, Kilmarnock, Largs, Maybole, Millport, Newmilns and Greenholm, Prestwick, Rothesay, Troon |
| Ayrshire and Bute Water Board | Company | Irvine and District Water Board |
| East of Scotland Water Board | County council | Angus, part of Kincardine, Perth |
| East of Scotland Water Board | Corporation | Dundee |
| East of Scotland Water Board | Town council | Aberfeldy, Abernethy, Alyth, Arbroath, Auchterarder, Brechin, Callander, Coupar Angus, Crieff, Doune, Dunblane, Forfar, Inverbervie, Kirriemuir, Laurencekirk, Montrose, Perth, Pitlochry, Stonehaven |
| East of Scotland Water Board | Company | Blairgowrie Rattray and District Water Board, Loch Lee Water Board |
| Fife and Kinross Water Board | County council | Fife, Kinross |
| Fife and Kinross Water Board | Town council | Auchtermuchty, Burntisland, Cowdenbeath, Cupar, Dunfermline, Elie and Earlsferry, Falkland, Inverkeithing, Kilrenny Anstruther Easter and Anstruther Wester, Kinghorn, Kinross, Kirkcaldy, Leslie, Leven, Newburgh, Pittenweem, St Andrews, St Monace |
| Fife and Kinross Water Board | Company | Elie Earlsferry and St. Monance Joint Water Committee, Pittenweem Kilrenny and Anstruther Joint Water Committee |
| Inverness-shire Water Board | County council | Inverness |
| Inverness-shire Water Board | Town council | Fort William, Inverness, Kingussie |
| Lanarkshire Water Board | County council | part of Lanark |
| Lanarkshire Water Board | Town council | Biggar, Hamilton, Lanark, Motherwell and Wishaw |
| Lanarkshire Water Board | Company | Airdrie Coatbridge and District Water Board, Daer Water Board |
| Lower Clyde Water Board | County council | part of Dumbarton, part of Lanark, Renfrew |
| Lower Clyde Water Board | Corporation | Glasgow |
| Lower Clyde Water Board | Town council | Cove and Kilcreggan, Gourock, Greenock, Helensburgh, Milngavie, Paisley, Port Glasgow |
| Lower Clyde Water Board | Company | Clydebank and District Water Trust |
| Mid-Scotland Water Board | County council | Clackmannan, part of Dunbarton, Stirling |
| Mid-Scotland Water Board | Town council | Alloa, Alva, Bridge of Allan, Denny and Dunipace, Dollar, Grangemouth, Kilsyth, Kirkintilloch, Stirling, Tillicoultry |
| Mid-Scotland Water Board | Company | Stirlingshire and Falkirk Water Board, part of West Lothian Water Board |
| North of Scotland Water Board | County council | Caithness, Orkney, Sutherland, Zetland |
| North of Scotland Water Board | Town council | Dornoch, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Stromness, Thurso, Wick |
| North-East of Scotland Water Board | County council | Aberdeen, Banffl, part of Kincardine, Moray, Nairn |
| North-East of Scotland Water Board | Corporation | Aberdeen |
| North-East of Scotland Water Board | Town council | Aberchirder, Aberlour, Ballater, Banchory, Banff, Buckie, Cullen, Dufftown, Ellon, Findochty, Forres, Fraserburgh, Grantown-on-Spey, Huntly, Inverurie, Keith, Kintore, Macduff, Nairn, Oldmeldrum, Peterhead, Portknockie, Portsoy, Rosehearty, Rothes, Turriff |
| North-East of Scotland Water Board | Company | Buckie and Portknockie Joint Water Committee, Laich of Moray Water Board, Lower Deveron Water Board, Nairn Joint Water Board |
| Ross and Cromarty Water Board | County council | Aberdeen, Banffl, part of Kincardine, Moray, Nairn |
| Ross and Cromarty Water Board | Town council | Cromarty, Dingwall, Fortrose, Invergordon, Stornoway, Tain |
| South-East of Scotland Water Board | County council | Peebles, Roxburgh, Selkirk |
| South-East of Scotland Water Board | Corporation | Edinburgh |
| South-East of Scotland Water Board | Town council | Berwick, Bo'ness, Coldstream, Duns, Eyemouth, Galashiels, Hawick, Innerleithen, Jedburgh, Kelso, Lauder, Melrose, Peebles, Selkirk |
| South-East of Scotland Water Board | Company | East Lothian Water Board, part of West Lothian Water Board |
| South-West of Scotland Water Board | County council | Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, Wigtown |
| South-West of Scotland Water Board | Town council | Annan, Castle Douglas, Dalbeattie, Dumfries, Gatehouse, Kirkcudbright, Langholm, Lochmaben, Lockerbie, Moffat, New Galloway, Newton Stewart, Sanquhar, Stranraer, Whithorn, Wigtown |
Joint water boards were a result of the Water Act 1945. This had encouraged the amalgamation of the water supply works from adjacent local authorities, so that water supply could be improved. Each board consisted of members appointed by local councils, who had expert knowledge of engineering or finance.