WFD Cycle 2 River Hydrology Classification for Water Body Health Assessment

Environment Agency's WFD Cycle 2 river hydrology classification dataset contains classification data for hydrological regime. The dataset uses flow, abstraction, and physical structure data to produce Ecological Quality Ratios (EQRs) for classifying water body health. This retired dataset was last updated on 2026-07-17 15:09:04.979730 and has been superseded by a newer record.

Use Cases

• Classify river health status (High, Good, Moderate, etc.) based on hydrological regime data.
• Assess the impact of water abstraction and physical modifications on ecological quality.
• Evaluate water body compliance for supporting biological populations and human activities like farming.
• Downgrade classification for heavily modified water bodies based on combined flow and compliance scores.

Strengths

• Classification data is based on a defined assessment tool using flow, abstraction, and physical modification data.
• Produces specific Ecological Quality Ratios (EQRs) for a standardized health classification.
• Explicitly defines classification categories: High, Supports Good, Good, Moderate, Poor, Bad.

Limitations

• Dataset is retired and superseded, indicating it is not the current authoritative version.
• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Environment Agency

Collection Method

Likely contains data from a hydrology assessment tool using freshwater flows, physical modification, and water abstraction data.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-17 15:09:04.979730; freshness should be verified as the dataset is retired.

Geography

Likely covers rivers in the United Kingdom, inferred from the 'uk_data' platform and the Environment Agency as the organization.