This document establishes the legal framework and regulatory mandates governing the administration of water authorities within Great Britain as of 1980. The text serves as a formal statutory instrument issued by the government to define the operational boundaries, financial responsibilities, and administrative powers of regional water bodies. It provides the legal basis for the management of water resources and infrastructure during this specific period of British administrative history.

Legal professionals and historians utilize this document as a primary source for understanding the regulatory environment of the British water sector in the late twentieth century. Experts note that the text is written in dense, technical legislative language intended for administrative compliance rather than general readership.