'Never again': pollution and the management of watercourses in postwar Britain

Delay in legislation related to pollution and the management of watercourses in postwar Britain arose to some extent from the low priority given to river pollution. Some delay was because of difficulty in taking up such a fundamental issue. It took almost a century after 1879, when a proposal of watershed districts was put forth, to achieve that and to get three strands of river management together, including prevention of flooding and pollution along with providing water.