dataset · England
Catchment Data Explorer: Water Body Status Classification
This data can be accessed from the Catchment Data Explorer: https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning. The current health of the water environment is assessed in terms of its status. Surface waters are assessed for ecological status or potential and chemical status. Groundwaters are assessed for quantitative status and chemical status. A range of quality elements are assessed in each water body. For a water body to achieve good status, every element assessed must be at good status or be
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Licence: ["There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the licence identified.", "There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the
Evidence quality: 50.5
Listed in data.gov.uk public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- surface water ecological status (high, good, moderate, poor, bad) · surface water ecological potential · surface water chemical status (good, fail) · groundwater quantitative status (good, poor) · groundwater chemical status (good, poor)
- Coverage docs-verified
- England
- Resolution docs-verified
- per water body
- Update frequency docs-verified
- quarterly
- Formats docs-verified
- CSV
- Access docs-verified
- Free and open: no public access constraints; Open Government Licence
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- WFD waterbody status baseline for receiving watercourses in drainage or discharge assessments · Screening surface water quality constraints for FRA and EIA water environment sections · Groundwater quantitative and chemical status screening for abstraction or foundation risk · Tracking status trends across river basin planning cycles for catchment strategy reporting
- Audience llm-inferred
- environmental consultants · hydrologists · drainage engineers · flood consultants · planners
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- Chemical status classification method changed after the 2016 plans, so cross-cycle comparisons need care · Overall status is the worst element result, so element-level values are not shown in this dataset · Groundwater and surface water use different status classes, so results are not directly comparable · Metadata lists an extent that is not limited to England, so check the boundary before use
Evidence
- https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/England/classifications.csv
- https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/0a36e70a-14bc-4336-9083-7afb31f5705b/catchment-data-explorer-water-body-status-classification
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.