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Commissioners of Sewers for Somerset had been functioning from the late medieval period over an area of about 160,000 acres although records of their activities survive locally only from the 18th century. A system of 'dole' work developed whereby landowners undertook allotted portions of works which were overseen by the viewers or dyke reeves who made presentments at the sewers sessions for their division. Late 18th century and early 19th century schemes, e.g. Axe, Brue and King's Sedgemoor Drainage, imposed further duties of maintenance of artificial streams. The responsibilities for these schemes devolved on the commissioners of sewers following the completion of works specified in the acts. The River Tone remained under the view of the Conservators of the Tone, although from 1877 works were undertaken by the Drainage Commissioners. The Parrett Navigation Company, formed in 1836, took over navigation responsibilities for that river but was insolvent by 1860. Following the Land Drainage Act (1861) five drainage districts were set up for the Parrett hinterland, Chedzoy, Aller Moor, Stanmoor, Curry Moor and North Moor, and commissioners of sewers were appointed for the King's Sedgemoor district, thus removing it from the Langport and Bridgwater divisions. General Commissioners for Othery, Middlezoy and Westonzoyland were appointed in 1841 under the terms of the enclosure act of 1830. Following the Somerset Drainage Act (1877) overall control of the area of the rivers Axe, Brue and Parrett, Tone, Ile and Yeo (123,000 acres) was vested in the Drainage Commissioners. Ten new internal drainage boards were created, viz. Upper Axe, Lower Axe, Upper Brue, Lower Brue, King's Sedgemoor and Carey Valley, Bridgwater and Pawlett, Stockland, Cannington and Wembdon, West Sedgemoor and Langport. Saltmoor was also created but later amalgamated with Othery, Middlezoy and Westonzoyland.
The Land Drainage Act (1930) led to the creation of the Somerset Rivers Catchment Board which took over the powers of both the Somerset Drainage Commissioners and the Somerset Commissioners of Sewers since the Midland (Wells) and Northern(Wrington) Divisions of Sewers continued after 1877. Three new internal drainage boards were created, viz. Gordano Valley, North Somerset and West Mendip. In 1946 a board was set up for the Dunster district.
The Somerset River Board succeeded the SRCB in 1951 and took over river pollution prevention duties previously administered by local authorities. It also assumed the powers of the Avon Brue and Parrett Fishery District which had been created under the Salmon Fishery Act (1865). The SRB became the Somerset River Authority which was merged with the local water boards to become the Somerset Division within the Wessex Water Authority in 1974. The accumulation of much of the pre-1930 records is due largely to the efforts of E.L. Kelting, OBE, engineer to the Board 1938-1973.
Details of related drainage records in other collections are noted in their appropriate sections. The River Authority archives were sorted and assigned reference codes when at the Somerset River Board offices. This arrangement was in effect up to 1985 and consequently was adopted by Michael Williams in his work The Draining of the Somerset Levels (1970). This older arrangement, e.g. Parrett Navigation, (PN) Brue Drainage (BD), Drainage Commissioners (DC) has been superseded by a numerical system of coding.