This article explores the statutory limitations faced by the metropolitan commissioners of sewers. It is largely based on an analysis of judicial decisions in cases involving the commissioners and their taxation policy from 1812 to 1845. It argues that the commissioners pursued a potentially radical agenda for sewers financing and taxation, but that their agenda was resisted by ratepayers and thwarted by a generally though not completely hostile judiciary. This article thus contributes to the ongoing revaluation of the metropolitan commissioners of sewers and illustrates the constructed nature of statutory limitation.