Water Framework Directive River Catchments with 2022 Classification

2022 classification results for Water Framework Directive River Water Body Catchments in the UK. The dataset includes simplified polygon geometries for catchments and coastal drainage areas, created using hydrological models based on EA LiDAR data. It is published by the Environment Agency and updated in 2026.

Use Cases

• Map river catchment boundaries based on polygon geometries.
• Analyze water body classification status based on the 2022 attribution.
• Identify coastal drainage areas based on the 'Coastal Catchment' water_body_type field.
• Assess hydrological connectivity for areas draining directly to coastal waters.

Strengths

• Includes coastal catchments for areas draining directly to coastal waters.
• Geometry simplified for faster web mapping services.
• Contains attribution for 2022 classification results.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Environment Agency

Collection Method

Created using hydrological models based on EA LiDAR data informed with the Detailed River Network.

Time Range

Cycle 3 of the WFD, with 2022 classification results.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-07 14:36:44.960906; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United Kingdom (implied by uk_data platform and Environment Agency source).