ABSTAT: Water Abstraction Statistics for England and Wales from 2000

England and Wales water abstraction data from 2000 onwards, managed by the Environment Agency. It details licensed water volumes and estimates of actual abstractions by purpose and source, measured in megalitres per day, with regional breakdowns. The dataset is updated annually each November.

Use Cases

• Analyzing trends in licensed water abstraction volumes based on purpose categories.
• Estimating actual water usage by source type (e.g., rivers, groundwater) for resource planning.
• Assessing the impact of regulatory changes (e.g., the Water Act 2003) on license counts and reported purposes.
• Modeling sector-specific water demand, such as for spray irrigation or electricity supply, based on reported categories.

Strengths

• Provides data for each calendar year from 2000, offering a multi-decade time series.
• Includes both licensed abstraction limits and estimates of actual abstractions.
• Data is supplied with regional breakdowns, allowing for geographic analysis.
• Annual updates each November provide a consistent refresh cycle.

Limitations

• Does not estimate unlicensed abstractions, which may underrepresent total water use.
• Regulatory changes in 2005 and 2008 affected license counts and reporting, potentially introducing discontinuities.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Environment Agency (England and Wales), via the Government Digital Service and Defra.

Collection Method

Compiled from abstraction license records and mandatory returns submitted by license holders.

Time Range

2000 onwards (with data on request from 1995 to 2010).

Freshness

Updated each November.

Geography

England and Wales.