Records of the Severn Trent Water Authority; 1974-1989

The material currently held gives a very fragmented picture of the work of the Authority. Files cover a diverse range of topics, and originate from a number of the different divisions and districts which have existed over time. They include papers of the Nottingham Water Supply Division Management Committee (1974-1975), files belonging to the Photographer of Lower Trent Division (1978-1981), a press file of newspaper cuttings relating to the Authority and general water issues (1975-1977), location maps and lists of water works of the Nottingham District (1974-1977). Of particular interest are research papers on the history of Stoke Bardolph Water Reclamation Works for its centenary (1978-1980), and a collection of tender documents and plans relating to the restoration of Wilford Suspension Bridge, Nottingham, in 1983-1984 (RWA/F).

There is a fairly comprehensive run of minutes, from 1974 to the early 1980s, of the Authority and its various committees, including the Land Drainage Committee, Policy and Resources Committee, Water Amenity Committee, Recreation and Fisheries Committee, Water Management Committee, and the Fisheries Advisory Committee. Very few annual reports are present. (RWA/G).

These is a large volume of photographic material (RWA/Ph), including an indexed Lower Trent Division collection of contact sheets and slides showing various works, aerial photographs of water works and flooding incidents, and staff portraits (some intended for use in 'Downstream', the newspaper for staff of the Lower Trent Division). Also present are assorted bundles of often un-labelled or undated photographs showing construction work at various pumping stations and water reclamation works in Nottinghamshire, some of which had been used for Nottingham District displays. There is a variety of material relating to Papplewick Pumping Station, Nottingham, including photographs of the interior and the disused underground reservoir.

The small collection of plans (RWA/P) of various dates are mostly Lower Trent Division drawings and sections of reservoir improvements, including Belle Vue Reservoir in Nottingham and Redhill Reservoir, Nottinghamshire, work on mains pipes, at Basford, Nottingham, and a series of Nottingham Water Supply Division plans (dating back to 1971) relating to easements for the Southern Area trunk main.

Printed material (RWA/Pr) includes a series of issues of the 'Stream' newspaper for the period 1978-1981, published by the Authority for all Severn Trent and East Worcestershire Waterworks Company employees, which provides useful information about the day to day work of the Authority, its technical developments, and staff members, etc. Also present are commemorative publications relating to Stoke Bardolph Water Reclamation Works, a thesis on river navigation, various technical reports, and a bundle of pamphlets and leaflets aimed at the general public or intended to communicate to children the issues around the treatment of water, water conservation, water safety, etc.

Officially constituted on 14 August 1973, the Severn Trent Water Authority took over control on 1 April 1974 from the Trent River Authority, and also assumed responsibility for sewerage and sewage disposal from local authorities, water supply from statutory water undertakers, and land drainage, fisheries and prevention of river pollution, from the river authorities. It was one of ten water authorities, and was named after the two main rivers in its catchment, the Severn and the Trent.

The Authority originally consisted of 43 members, 16 of whom were appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment, 4 by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and 22 by local authorities. They met four times a year. The 1983 Water Act reduced the number of members to a board of 14 government appointed people and customer representation provided via new consultative committees, with the intention of making the Authority structure more like that of other nationalised industries.

Initially there were 23 single purpose divisions (including two river divisions), within Severn Trent Water Authority, in order to continue operations at local level during the transitional period, but as planning of water resources and water reclamation needed to be controlled by headquarters, this meant that the river divisions had less of a role to play. The Nottingham Water Supply Division was based at Hucknall Road, Nottingham (previously the headquarters of the City of Nottingham Water Department which had been responsible for water supply).

Following reorganisation, which came into operation on 1 April 1975, the Authority restructured into eight new operating divisions. Each had a management team consisting of a Divisional Manager, Divisional Engineer (responsible for hydrology, maintenance services, new works, reclamation, land drainage, etc.), Divisional Operations Controller (responsible for areas, trade effluent, inspectorate, pumping, distribution, mains, mechanical services, etc.), Divisional Scientist (responsible for analytical services, scientific records, laboratories, etc.), Divisional Finance and Administrative Officer, and a Personnel Officer.

The Lower Trent Division had its headquarters at Mapperley Hall, Nottingham, with other offices at Hucknall Road and Trentside, in Nottingham, and also Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, and Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Based on Nottinghamshire, the Division also included parts of Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Yorkshire and Humberside.

In 1987 the Divisions merged and became four new Divisions, Western, Northern, Southern, and Eastern, the latter formed from the Lower Trent Division and Soar Division, with a Management Centre based at Leicester Water Centre. These new Divisions were further divided into fifteen operating disticts, with district offices at Nottingham, Leicester and Mansfield.

Material has been arranged by type and provenance, but date order has not been followed as more material may be added to the collection at a later date.

The bulk of the collection is accessible to all registered readers. However, access may be restricted to some files which include material which may have data protection issues, or are less than 30 years old.

Copyright in all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

On the World Wide Web: Online catalogue available from the Manuscripts and Special Collections website.

Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections

Following the 1989 privatisation of Severn Trent Water, some Severn Trent Water Authority files and photographic material relating to the Trent region were passed to the University as a result of the closure of Swithland Pumping Station, used at one point by the Authority for the storage of non-current files. A small number of papers which were previously housed at the Hucknall Road Office, and were originally listed with the records of the City of Nottingham Water Department, have now been moved to this collection (previous numbers R/HR/2/1). This catalogue was produced in 2011-2012 with support from The National Archives Cataloguing Grants Programme.

Manuscripts and Special Collections also holds records of predecessor bodies (the Trent River Board/Authority and City of Nottingham Water Department) and successors (privatised Severn Trent Water), containing material relating to the East Midlands region and Trent basin (Ref: RE, RG, RT, RC, RH, RTF, RHR and RST).