Catchment Data Explorer: UK Waterbody Protected Areas Register

Environment Agency maintains this register of protected water areas as required by the Water Framework Directive. The data supports river basin management plans and includes drinking water protected areas, shellfish waters, bathing waters, nutrient-sensitive areas, and habitats requiring water quality protection. The dataset was last updated on 2026-07-06.

Use Cases

• Mapping protected water zones for environmental planning based on the described categories like drinking water protected areas.
• Analyzing compliance with the Water Framework Directive based on the register of designated areas.
• Assessing water quality impacts on habitats and species based on areas where water status is a key protection factor.
• Monitoring recreational water quality based on the inclusion of designated bathing waters.

Strengths

• Data is maintained and updated by the Environment Agency, a regulatory authority.
• Supports legally mandated river basin management plans.
• Covers multiple specific protected area types as defined by regulation.

Limitations

• Row count and dataset size are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Freshness should be verified as the last update timestamp is from the future (2026).

Provenance

Source

Environment Agency

Collection Method

Maintained as a statutory register under the Water Framework Directive / Water Environment Regulations.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-06 07:09:25.186177

Geography

United Kingdom (areas within the Environment Agency's district)