dataset · England

Groundwater Vulnerability Maps (2017) on MAGIC

This dataset is available for use for non-commercial purposes only on request as AfA248 dataset Groundwater Vulnerability Maps (2017). For commercial use please contact the British Geological Survey. The Groundwater Vulnerability Maps show the vulnerability of groundwater to a pollutant discharged at ground level based on the hydrological, geological, hydrogeological and soil properties within a single square kilometre. The 2017 publication has updated the groundwater vulnerability maps to refle

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Source details

Licence: ["Available under the Environment Agency Conditional Licence with the following Special conditions:\n1.1 This information may only be used by you:\n\n- for the purposes of a contract you have to do wo

Evidence quality: 45.2

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: groundwater vulnerability, combined map (High, Medium, Low) · groundwater vulnerability, simplified map (High, Medium-High, Medium, Medium-Low, Low) · aquifer type (bedrock and/or superficial) · aquifer designation status (Principal, Secondary, Unproductive) · stippled areas (solution features enabling rapid pollutant movement) · dashed areas (additional local information held by the Environment Agency)
Coverage docs-verified: Data extent: latitude 49.943 to 55.816, longitude -6.236 to 2.072 (bounding box). ENTRY region: England · Creation reference date 2017-11-01; revision reference date 2025-07-25
Resolution docs-verified: Vulnerability assessed per 1 km square; base data at 1:50k scale
Update frequency docs-verified: As needed (metadata frequency: asNeeded)
Access docs-verified: Environment Agency Conditional Licence. Summary says non-commercial use only, on request; commercial use via British Geological Survey. Licence limits use to work under contract for the EA and internal use. Not open data.

Useful for

Use cases llm-inferred: Screening groundwater vulnerability for a site during contaminated land or pollution-risk assessment (EA-contracted work only) · Flagging stippled solution-feature areas in infiltration or SuDS feasibility screening · Producing a simplified five-class groundwater risk summary for non-specialist client briefings
Audience llm-inferred: hydrogeologists · geotechnical engineers · environmental consultants · drainage engineers · planners · GIS analysts

Limitations

Constraints docs-verified: Licence restricts use to work under contract for the Environment Agency and internal use; no use is licensed without a contract · Commercial use requires contacting the British Geological Survey · Summary says non-commercial use only, which conflicts with the licence wording · Combined map needs technical specialist interpretation of its legend · Based on 2017 publication, with later revision date 2025-07-25 · No API, tools or MCP access listed in the entry

Evidence

Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.