WAJ was originally established in 1983, pursuant to the Water Authority Law No.34 of 1983 (temporary law), as an autonomous corporate body, with financial and administrative independence named the Water Authority, it was directly linked with the Prime Minister. The main feature of this law was that the Water Authority took over all responsibilities of the entities responsible for water and wastewater. According to Article 23 of the said law the Water Authority was responsible for the public water supply and wastewater services, as well as for the overall water resources planning and monitoring. Furthermore, it took over all responsibilities of the former: