The Metropolitan Water Board was founded in 1903. It brought the nine private water companies supplying water to London under a single public body, acquiring The New River Company, The East London Waterworks Company, The Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company, The West Middlesex Waterworks Company, The Lambeth Waterworks Company, The Chelsea Waterworks Company, The Grand Junction Waterworks Company, The Kent Waterworks Company and The Staines Reservoirs Joint Committee.

Following the Water Act 1973, in which ten large water authorities were established based on river basins and catchment areas, the Metropolitan Water Board was abolished in 1974 and control was transferred to the Thames Water Authority, now Thames Water.