WFD Groundwater Bodies: 2019 Classification for the UK

Water Framework Directive (WFD) Groundwater Bodies is a polygon dataset representing major aquifers in the UK. It provides attribution for the 2019 classification cycle, including chemical and quantitative status for distinct groundwater flow units. The data is derived from verified 1:625k classified aquifer geology and is structured for reporting at the Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy (CAMS) scale.

Use Cases

• Assessing chemical status of groundwater bodies for regulatory reporting based on the 2019 classification layer.
• Evaluating quantitative water balance and flow properties for aquifer management based on the dataset's definition of coherent flow units.
• Mapping aquifer vulnerability to pollution using the hydrogeological characteristics and recharge area information.
• Integrating groundwater body boundaries with other environmental datasets for catchment-scale planning.

Strengths

• Data is verified by the British Geological Survey (BGS), indicating authoritative scientific review.
• Derived from primary input datasets including 1:625k Classified Aquifer Geology and 1:250k Solid Geology maps, providing a detailed foundation.
• Includes separate classification layers for chemical and quantitative status from the 2019 WFD cycle.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, specific column names, and license are missing from all provided sources.
• The 'last updated' date of 2026-04-07 appears to be a future date, suggesting a potential metadata error or placeholder value.
• Documentation is incomplete, cutting off descriptions of the associated layer files.

Provenance

Source

Environment Agency, with underlying data from the British Geological Survey (BGS) and Ordnance Survey.

Collection Method

Digitized from hard copy 1:250k Solid Geology maps and classified according to aquifer type, with consultation at Area level.

Time Range

Classification results are for the 2019 reporting cycle (Cycle 3).

Freshness

2026-04-07 14:36:26.657168 (Note: This is a future date, which may indicate a metadata error.)

Geography

United Kingdom, defined at Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy (CAMS) scale.