About Us

British Waterways is a public corporation. We manage and care for more than 2,200 miles (3,540 km) of canals and rivers in England, Scotland and Wales on behalf of the British people.

We will blend best commercial practice with public sector values to earn and increase our income to conserve and enhance the waterways.

As well as being governed by the normal accounting, employment, environmental, planning and safety legislation that affects any modern organisation, we are specifically governed by many of the original canal enabling Acts as well as a number of modern Acts of Parliament.

Our sponsoring government departments are:
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs in England and Wales
The Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department in Scotland
We also liaise closely with:
The Department for Economic Development and Transport in Wales

Inland Waterways Advisory Council (IWAC)
IWAC provides strategic policy advice to us and to government about the waterways generally. It has published several reports on topics such as restoration, social inclusion and planning.