dataset · United Kingdom
River water quality: Annual average concentrations of selected determinands
This series is an amalgamation of all the river water quality data sets previously held on Data.Gov.UK (DGUK), thus consolidating all information about selected nutrients, heavy metals and other determinands entering into rivers in Great Britain in one location on DGUK. Data source is the Environment Agency (EA). The record includes the following datasets: Annual average concentrations of Nitrate and Orthophosphate by landscape type 1980 to 2011 - The Harmonised Monitoring Scheme Annual average
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Licence: UK Open Government Licence (OGL)
Evidence quality: 50.7
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
- nitrate concentrations in rivers · orthophosphate concentrations in rivers · dissolved oxygen · biological oxygen demand (BOD) · ammoniacal nitrogen · heavy metals in rivers · biological river water quality · chemical river water quality · nitrate in selected groundwater sites
- Coverage docs-verified
- Great Britain · 1980 to 2011 for most series; some 1990-2009, 1995-2008 or to 2004
- Resolution docs-verified
- Annual averages; by river location, landscape type and region
- Update frequency docs-verified
- None: static historical series, last updated 15 December 2017
- Formats docs-verified
- CSV · XLS
- Access docs-verified
- Free download under UK Open Government Licence (OGL) v3.0; no API key
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Historical background nitrate and orthophosphate context for a river water quality or diffuse pollution assessment · Landscape-type nutrient baseline for drainage or SuDS receiving-water assessments · Dissolved oxygen, BOD and ammoniacal nitrogen context for a discharge consent or outfall study · Heavy metal background levels in rivers for contaminated land or catchment screening
- Audience llm-inferred
- hydrologists · water quality scientists · environmental consultants · ecologists · planners
Limitations
- Constraints docs-verified
- Data stops around 2011; several series end earlier (2008, 2009, 2004) · Several series are superseded by the Water Framework Directive or have replacement measures under negotiation · Annual aggregated averages, not raw sample-level data · Not updated since December 2017 · File downloads only (CSV/XLS); no API
Evidence
- https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env-16-harmonised-monitoring-scheme-datasets
- https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/c6ad19a1-360d-4e62-9fd3-26f9e3ac39dd/river-water-quality-annual-average-concentrations-of-selected-determinands
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.