WFD Cycle 2 Ecological Water Body Classification for the UK

Ecological status classifications for water bodies, recorded as high, good, moderate, poor, or bad. The dataset is composed of up to five different assessment types, including biological quality elements and physico-chemical standards. The data is provided by the UK Environment Agency and was last updated in July 2026.

Use Cases

• Assess water body health based on biological quality elements like fish, invertebrates, or algae mentioned in the description.
• Monitor compliance with environmental standards for supporting physico-chemical conditions such as dissolved oxygen or phosphorus.
• Evaluate concentrations of specific pollutants like zinc, cypermethrin, or arsenic in water bodies.
• Determine high ecological status by checking hydromorphology and invasive species presence criteria.

Strengths

• Classification is based on up to five distinct assessment types, providing a multi-faceted view of ecological status.
• Status is determined by a clear, defined rule (one-out-all-out approach) using the worst scoring element.
• Data is provided by the authoritative UK Environment Agency.

Limitations

• The dataset has been retired and superseded by a newer record, indicating it is not the current version.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and temporal coverage are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Environment Agency

Collection Method

Ecological monitoring and assessment for the Water Framework Directive.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-17 15:08:52.481957; freshness should be verified as the dataset is retired.

Geography

United Kingdom (implied by platform and author organization)