dataset · Europe
High Resolution Water Layer 2021 (raster 10 m), Europe, 3-yearly
The High Resolution Water Layer (HRWL) is a multi-annual product (generally a 7-year period). It provides detailed information about the presence and condition of water surfaces across Europe. It is based on the information created within the annual Water Cover Duration (WCD) production. It has a spatial resolution of 10 m x 10 m.
Visit source ↗Source details
Licence: other
Evidence quality: 38.6
Listed in cdse-stac 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 surface classification: permanent water, temporary water, dry, sea water · cloud and cloud shadow class (value 205)
- Coverage docs-verified
- Europe · from 2016-09-01, open-ended (STAC temporal interval)
- Resolution docs-verified
- 10 m x 10 m spatial; multi-annual temporal
- Update frequency docs-verified
- Multi-annual, 3-yearly (product:timeliness P3Y); description says generally a 7-year period
- Formats docs-verified
- GeoTIFF (cloud-optimized) · ZIP (zipped product) · XML (product metadata)
- Access docs-verified
- Licence 'other' (Copernicus Land Monitoring Service legal notice). Free or paid not stated; no auth in ENTRY. Storage: CDSE S3 requester_pays=false; CREODIAS S3 requester_pays=true
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- FRA baseline mapping of permanent water bodies near a site · Drainage and SuDS context: temporary water extent in low-lying areas · BNG/habitat baseline of water surfaces (permanent vs temporary) for ecology inputs
- Audience llm-inferred
- flood consultants · hydrologists · ecologists · GIS analysts
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- Multi-annual product, not annual or near-real-time water extent · Conflicting period: title says 2021 and 3-yearly, description says generally a 7-year period; confirm the epoch before citing · Open-ended temporal interval from 2016-09-01 does not itself define the reference year · Cloud and cloud shadow pixels (value 205) are unclassified for water/dry, leaving gaps · 10 m resolution may miss narrow watercourses and small ponds · Licence 'other': check CLMS legal notice before redistribution · CREODIAS S3 copy is requester-pays
Evidence
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.