 Consisting of 65 sections, the Act was organised into five parts, covering central and local planning, local organisation of water supplies, conservation and protection of water resources, powers and duties of local authorities and local undertakers, with the final part covering a number of general sections.This part also included five schedules, of which the fourth contained amendments to the Public Health Act 1936, and the fifth contained details of previous legislation which was repealed by the Act.It gave the Minister of Housing and Local Government the responsibility "to promote the conservation and proper use of water resources and the provision of water supplies in England and Wales and to secure the effective execution by water undertakers, under his control and direction, of a national policy relating to water."