Under the laws of United Kingdom it is a criminal offence to pollute groundwater, lake, river or the sea or to discharge any liquid into such water bodies without permission from the appropriate authority.
The Water Act of 1989 privatized the responsibility for the delivery of water supplies and sewage treatment. This Act set up a government agency, the National Rivers Authority (NRA), whose functions included the power to give discharge consents.
The Water Resources Act of 1991 consolidated the main laws on water and sewage. It now provides for control of water pollution in ground water, inland water, estuaries and the sea up to three miles from the coastline.
Without discharge consent it is an offence under the provisions of Section 85 of the Water Resources Act of 1991 to cause or permit the discharge of any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter into water bodies. The purpose of these controls is to prevent or minimize water pollution.
