The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functions from the eight private water companies which had previously supplied water to residents of London. The board oversaw a significant expansion of London's water supply infrastructure, building several new reservoirs and water treatment works. The Metropolitan Water Board was abolished in 1974 when control was transferred to the Thames Water Authority, which was subsequently re-privatised as Thames Water. Background Water supply in the London area was regulated by local acts and royal charters on a piecemeal basis from 1543. Through amalgamation, by 1830 there were six companies supplying water north of the Thames: The New River Company incorporated in 1619 The Hampstead Water Company, incorporated around 1730 The Chelsea Waterworks Company, incorporated 1723 The West Middlesex Waterworks Company, incorporated 1806 The East London Waterworks Company, incorporated 1807 The Grand Junction Waterworks Company, incorporated 1811 and four to the south of the river The Lambeth Waterworks Company, incorporated 1785 The Kent Waterworks Company, incorporated 1809 The Southwark Water Company, incorporated around 1760 The Vauxhall Water Company, incorporated 1805 Following complaints, a royal commission was set up in 1827 to investigate the quality of supply. The commission found that the water was of poor quality and cleanliness, and was in need of improvement. A select committee endorsed this view in 1828 and recommended that a scheme should be devised by Thomas Telford, to supply the whole metropolis with clean water. Telford reported in 1834, and despite several outbreaks of cholera, little action was taken until the Metropolis Water Act 1852 introduced regulation of the supply companies; including minimum standards of water quality for the first time. A further Royal commission reported in 1869 and recommended that the supply should be taken into public management. The Metropolis Water Act 1871 introduced further regulation, but fell short of taking the supply into public control. In the meantime the corporations of major provincial towns such as Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds began operating their own municipal supplies. The Metropolitan Board of Works promoted several unsuccessful bills between 1878 and 1886 which would have allowed them to offer a municipal water supply; with a further eight bills promoted by the London County Council