dataset · England
Water Resource Availability and Abstraction Reliability
This record is for Approval for Access (AfA) product AfA445. The Water Resource Availability and Abstraction Reliability Cycle 3 dataset indicates whether, and for what percentage of time, additional water may be available for consumptive abstraction (subject to assessment of local risks) for each Water Framework Directive Cycle 3 water body. Each water body is colour coded as follows: • Green - Water available for licensing • Yellow - Restricted water available for licensing • Red - Water not a
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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: 47.5
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 availability for consumptive abstraction per WFD Cycle 3 water body · licensing availability colour classes (green, yellow, red, grey)
- Coverage llm-inferred
- England · Reference dates only: created 2014-09-01, revised 2026-05-19; not a measurement period
- Resolution docs-verified
- Per Water Framework Directive Cycle 3 water body
- Update frequency docs-verified
- biannually
- Formats docs-verified
- DOC (product description) · SHP (zipped) · GPKG (zipped) · GeoJSON (zipped) · GDB (zipped)
- Access docs-verified
- Free and open under Open Government Licence v3.0; no public access constraints; no authentication
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Screening whether water is likely available for a new consumptive abstraction licence application, subject to local risk assessment · Adding WFD Cycle 3 water body availability context to water resources and flood risk assessments · Mapping licensing availability across England for catchment-scale water resource reports
- Audience llm-inferred
- water resources consultants · hydrologists · environmental consultants · GIS analysts · planners
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- Estimated or modelled results, not raw or measured data; availability is indicative only · Availability is subject to assessment of local risks, so results do not replace site-specific assessment · Download links are labelled Cycle 2 while the summary describes Cycle 3; confirm the version before use · Colour classes are per water body and give no volumes or flow values
Evidence
- https://environment.data.gov.uk/api/file/download?fileDataSetId=d2024f0b-6263-435f-984c-a6ff1a8d5b1b&fileName=Water_Resource_Availability_and_Abstraction_Reliability_Cycle_2.gdb.zip
- https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/b1f5c467-ed41-4e8f-89d7-f79a76645fd6/water-resource-availability-and-abstraction-reliability22
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.