River Basin Districts for Water Framework Directive Cycle 3

Environment Agency polygon data delineates River Basin Districts, the largest reporting units for the Water Framework Directive. The dataset was created using hydrological models based on EA LiDAR data and the Detailed River Network. It applies specifically to Cycle 3 of the WFD and was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Map administrative boundaries for WFD compliance reporting using the polygon geometries.
• Analyze spatial relationships between River Basin Districts and constituent Management Catchments.
• Assign coastal and transitional water bodies to a reporting district based on merged polygon features.

Strengths

• Polygon boundaries ensure WFD rivers do not intersect district borders.
• Includes an associated layer file (WFD_River_Basin_Districts_Cycle_3.lyrx) for styling.

Limitations

• Specific row/feature count and total geographic area are unknown.
• Data is limited to Cycle 3 of the WFD and may not reflect future cycles.
• The shapefile format has noted inherent limitations.

Provenance

Source

Environment Agency (UK).

Collection Method

Created by aggregating river catchments within a GIS, informed by EA LiDAR data and the Detailed River Network.

Time Range

Cycle 3 of the Water Framework Directive.

Freshness

Last updated in April 2026.

Geography

River Basin Districts in the UK (land and sea areas).