Essex Waterways Ltd is a non-profit-making trading subsidiary company of The Inland Waterways Association, a registered charity that campaigns for the preservation, conservation, restoration and development of the inland waterways of Great Britain. 

As a private company, Essex Waterways Ltd is bound by the requirements of the Companies Acts, although it also tries to act in the best interests of the waterway and for the benefit of the public.  Any surplus funds that are passed up to the parent charity are held in a designated fund, with the intent that they are spent on the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation, in accordance with IWA’s charitable purposes, in future years.