Excerpt from Journal of the Royal Sanitary Institute, Vol. 43: Issued February, 1923

Recommendations of the Water Power Resources Committee - It is im possible to reproduce these in full in this paper, but for other reasons than the obvious limits of space it will be more easy, and also more appropriate, to call attention to the essential points upon which the Committee have failed to report rather than to reproduce their recommendations. Before doing this, however, it is necessary to make a brief reference to the Final Report as a whole. Among the many and voluminous reports on water-supply to be found in the library of a water engineer there is probably not one in which the problems of the day are so comprehensively stated as in the report we are discussing. Upon the question of water-power resources there is certainly nothing comparable to it. AS a contribution to the litera ture of water resources this report is invaluable and unique. Unfortunately, however, while it states the problems, and plainly indicates the ideal condi tions by which they could be solved, it fails to emphasise the fact that legislation is an essential preliminary to effective progress. More particu larly does it fail in suggesting the exact nature of the legislation required. Take, for instance, the most important and valuable recommendation which the report contains that is, the formation of a Water Commission, to which all questions of allocation of sources should be referred, and consider the difficulties which would face the draughtsman called upon to frame the Parliamentary Bill necessary to give effect to it. The first question which must arise in such cases is the relation of the proposed Bill to existing enactments, and here the difficulty of establishing a new statutory body with the comprehensive functions ascribed to the proposed Water Com mission at once becomes apparent. These functions, even as stated in the summary contained in paragraph 270 of the report, overlap functions at present performed by Parliament, Government Departments, Local Authorities, and a host of other bodies, including existing water authorities as such. It is obvious that such comprehensive functions could only be legalised by the repeal of a vast array of public and private Acts, or at least of parts thereof. In the execution of the duties allocated to the proposed Water Commission, there would, however, arise many minor points of over lapping and conflict, not less serious in their prejudicial effect on the ideal result in view.

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