Identification

Title

WFD Cycle 2 river hydrology classification

Alternative title(s)

Abstract

This dataset is a subset of "WFD Classification Status Cycle 2" and contains classification data for hydrological regime. A river can only hold a healthy biological population if there is sufficient water and natural structures to support biological processes. Rivers with sufficient flows can also support human activities such as farming, drinking water supply and industrial processes. The hydrology assessment tool uses data on freshwater flows, physical modification and water abstraction to assess the health of a water body. The tool works by assessing a water body’s compliance category (freshwater inputs less abstraction amounts) against a score for flow compliance. A water body cannot score high status if it is considered to be ‘heavily modified’ which refers to a river being modified from its natural state for human use. If a water body considered heavily modified scored high in the compliance and flow tests it would be automatically downgraded to ‘Supports Good’ status. Flow, abstraction and physical structure data are used in combination to produce scores known as Ecological Quality Ratios (EQR). EQRs are used to produce a Hydrology classification (High, Supports Good, Good, Moderate, Poor, Bad) of the water body for Water Framework Directive (WFD) purposes. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2015. All rights reserved.

Resource type

dataset

Resource locator

https://environment.data.gov.uk/datafiles/f5784ef5c29f450abf08beb7befe897b

protocol: WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link

name: Data_download_link

description: Data download link

https://support.environment.data.gov.uk/hc/en-gb

protocol: http:

name: DSP_CUSTOMER_FORUM

description: DEFRA Data Services Platform Customer Forum

Unique resource identifier

code

4843f31c-917d-4a16-8b13-93e1e1a78c49

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

http://www.opengis.net/def/crs/EPSG/0/27700

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

environment

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

OpenData

Keyword set

keyword value

EC Directive

Keyword set

keyword value

water quality

originating controlled vocabulary

title

GEMET - Concepts, version 2.4

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2010-01-13

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

-6.236

East bounding longitude

2.072

North bounding latitude

55.816

South bounding latitude

49.943

Extent

Extent group

authority code

code identifying the extent

http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/doc/country/england

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

2015-12-02

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

creation

effective date

2015-12-09

Frequency of update

annually

Quality and validity

Lineage

The Water Framework Directive classification system is risk based and focuses on where there is likely to be a problem. It uses a principle known as "one out, all out", which means the poorest individual results drive the overall classification for a water body. It reports on over 30 quality elements, grouped into ecological status and chemical status. Ecological status includes physico-chem (e.g. nutrients, pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonia) , biological elements (e.g. phytoplankton, macroalgae, fish, invertebrates) , specific pollutants (e.g. metals and compounds, organic compounds) , hydromorphology (e.g. depth, width, flow, structure). Chemical status is assessed using priority substances, priority hazardous substances and other pollutants that present a significant risk to the water environment.

Conformity

Data format

name of format

Proprietary format | MS Excel (XLS)

version of format

Unknown

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Open Government Licence

Constraint set

Limitations on public access

There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the licence identified.

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

organisation name

Environment Agency

email address

DSPcustomerforum@environment-agency.gov.uk

web address

https://support.environment.data.gov.uk/hc/en-gb

description: Defra Data Services Forum

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact

organisation name

Environment Agency

email address

metadata@environment-agency.gov.uk

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata date

2021-11-10

Metadata language

eng