The New River is an artificial waterway built to supply drinking water to central London, drawing from springs at Amwell and Chadwell near Ware, Hertfordshire and ending in Islington by Sadler’s Wells Theatre. It opened in 1613 thanks to Edmund Colthurst and Sir Hugh Myddelton. Operated by the New River Company for three centuries, it was taken over by the Metropolitan Water Board in 1904.

Today, it supplies reservoirs, including King George’s at Chingford and supplements its flow with water from the River Lea due to increased demand.