The East London Waterworks Company was one of eight private water companies in London absorbed by the Metropolitan Water Board in 1904.
The company was founded by the (47 Geo. 3 Sess. 2. c. lxxii).
Under the (48 Geo. 3. c. viii) the company acquired existing waterworks at Shadwell (dating from 1660) Lea Bridge (pre 1767) and West Ham (1743).
Predecessor companies
Shadwell Waterworks
The Shadwell Waterworks Company commenced operations in 1669, and was incorporated (as the 'Governor and Company of the Water Works and Water Houses in Shadwell') in 1692 by the (3 Will. & Mar. c. 37 Pr.).
The Shadwell Waterworks were purchased for £50,000 in 1801 by the London Dock Company, using powers granted in the Port of London Improvement Act 1800 (39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. xlvii).
West Ham Waterworks
Between 1743 and 1745, the West Ham Waterworks Company built a waterworks at Saynes Mill in Stratford.