dataset · England
Catchment Data Explorer: Waterbody Protected Areas
This data can be accessed from the Catchment Data Explorer: https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning. The Water Framework Directive / Water Environment Regulations requires the Environment Agency to maintain, review and keep up to date a register of the protected areas lying (whether wholly or partly) within the district. The register must include the following protected areas (a)a drinking water protected area; (b)an area or body of water for the time being designated or otherwise ide
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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
- Water Framework Directive protected areas register (waterbody protected areas)
- Coverage llm-inferred
- England (per ENTRY regions); docs extent lat 49.943 to 55.816, lon -6.236 to 2.072
- Update frequency docs-verified
- quarterly
- Formats docs-verified
- CSV
- Access docs-verified
- Free and open: no public access constraints; Open Government Licence v3.0; no authentication stated
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- WFD receptor screening: list protected areas (drinking water, bathing, shellfish, nutrient-sensitive, habitat) near a site for a planning or permit application · Water quality constraints check for discharge or drainage strategy near designated water bodies · Ecology constraints mapping alongside BNG habitat baseline for schemes near protected water bodies
- Audience llm-inferred
- environmental consultants · hydrologists · planners · ecologists · GIS analysts
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- Only a CSV download is listed in the docs; no GIS or geometry download is stated · Quarterly update frequency, so recent designations may not yet appear · Data is accessed through the Catchment Data Explorer
Evidence
- https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning
- https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/c7135cb9-6b07-45ee-b30c-83baf5d0c582/catchment-data-explorer-waterbody-protected-areas
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.