Water Framework Directive Transitional Waterbodies for 2008-2013 Cycle

A polygon dataset of estuarine waterbodies defined for the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) from 2008 to 2013. The data was collated by the Government Digital Service under the Open Government Licence. Waterbodies are defined as surface waters near river mouths that are partly saline but substantially influenced by freshwater flows.

Use Cases

• Mapping the spatial extent of transitional water bodies based on the polygon geometry.
• Analyzing water quality and ecological status for WFD reporting based on the collated attributes.
• Studying the influence of freshwater flows on saline coastal environments based on the defined waterbody characteristics.
• Assessing environmental changes in estuarine regions over the 2008-2013 reporting cycle.

Strengths

• Data is defined for a specific regulatory framework, the EU Water Framework Directive.
• Covers a complete reporting cycle from 2008 to 2013.
• Released under the OGL-UK-3.0 licence, permitting reuse.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Collated as defined for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive.

Time Range

2008-2013

Freshness

Last updated date is unknown.

Geography

Likely covers EU member states implementing the WFD, specific region unknown.