Groundwater Safeguard Zones for Drinking Water Protection in the UK

UK groundwater safeguard zones delineate areas around public water supplies requiring additional pollution control measures. The dataset is produced by the Environment Agency to fulfill Water Framework Directive requirements for protecting drinking water sources. It was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Model pollution risk to groundwater sources using the safeguard zone geometry and underlying Source Protection Zone data.
• Analyze land-use compliance within safeguard zone boundaries to enforce Article 7.3 of the Water Framework Directive.
• Identify areas requiring additional measures by comparing safeguard zone extents to catchment or sub-catchment boundaries.
• Support decisions on purification treatment levels by assessing the spatial relationship between abstraction points and safeguard zones.

Strengths

• Data is derived from authoritative sources including the Environment Agency and British Geological Survey (BGS).
• Geometry is based on detailed Groundwater Source Protection Zones (SPZs), typically SPZ 2.
• Last update indicates ongoing maintenance with a date in April 2026.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, column details, and sample data are unavailable for assessment.
• The spatial coverage is limited to the United Kingdom, specifically areas with public groundwater supplies.
• The relationship to full catchment boundaries is not guaranteed, as zones may be large or small depending on the pollution problem.

Provenance

Source

Environment Agency, derived from British Geological Survey (BGS) digital data.

Collection Method

Zones are based on Groundwater Source Protection Zones (SPZs) with additional assessment for required protection measures.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Updated on 2026-04-07.

Geography

United Kingdom, areas around public groundwater drinking water supplies.