Skip to content
All engineering use cases

Groundwater flooding UK

Review groundwater monitoring and geological context alongside other mapped flood mechanisms. Compare listed sources, access requirements and evidence for groundwater flooding uk.

4 sources · For geotechnical engineers, GIS analysts, civils engineers, drainage engineers, environmental consultants, flood consultants, planners, ecologists. Enrichment describes potential applications; review source evidence and limitations.

Surface water maps do not establish groundwater flood probability; seek specialist and local historical evidence.

Discover sources with MCP

Add this server to an HTTP-compatible MCP client, then call get_source to inspect the first source. The tool call is shown separately from the client configuration. Review upstream access details before requesting data.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "terramcp": {
      "url": "https://terramcp.earth/mcp"
    }
  }
}

// After connecting, call this discovery tool:
{
  "name": "get_source",
  "arguments": {
    "slug": "ea-hydrology-api"
  }
}

Listed sources

data apiGovernment / regulator
77.2/100Currency E

EA Hydrology API ↗

Hydrological station metadata and quality-labelled flow, level, groundwater and rainfall time series.

Live via TerraMCP ↗

ea_hydro_series · ea_groundwater_stations

What's in it

Data offered docs-verified
river flow 15-min instantaneous (m3/s) · river flow daily mean/min/max (m3/s) · river level 15-min instantaneous (m) · river level daily min/max (m) · rainfall 15-min total (mm) · rainfall daily total (mm) · groundwater level dipped (mAOD) · groundwater level logged, sub-daily (mAOD) · water quality 15-min instantaneous: dissolved oxygen (% and mg/L), fDOM (RFU), blue-green algae (RFU), turbidity (NTU), chlorophyll (µg/L), conductivity (µS/cm), temperature (°C), ammonium (mg/L), nitrate (mg/L as N), pH
Coverage llm-inferred
England
Resolution docs-verified
typically 15 min (sub-daily) and daily
Formats docs-verified
JSON · CSV · GeoJSON · HTML · RDF/XML · Turtle
Access llm-inferred
No authentication (per catalogue); free; Open Government Licence 3.0

Useful for

Use cases llm-inferred
FRA baseline flows and levels from nearest gauge · Rainfall and river level context for flood event review · Groundwater level baseline for site investigation or geotechnical assessment · Water quality baseline (dissolved oxygen, turbidity, nitrate) for ecological or pollution assessment
Audience llm-inferred
flood consultants · hydrologists · drainage engineers · ecologists · geotechnical engineers · GIS analysts

Limitations

Constraints docs-verified
Hard limit of 2,000,000 rows per call that cannot be overridden; soft limit of 100,000 rows per call (overridable with _limit) · Hard limit is subject to review and may be reduced if the service is overloaded · Bulk downloads should use the batch API; otherwise keep to one non-batch request in flight at a time · Concurrency limits may be enforced per IP address, and excessive demand may lead to blocking · Logged groundwater sub-daily values may mix 15-min and hourly intervals · Station identifiers are not always unique; some stations need a composite key with a wiskiID · HTML views are intended for debugging and development, not for presentation to consumers

Englandpage reachable

datasetGovernment / regulator
73/100Currency E

BGS Geoindex ↗

British Geological Survey GeoIndex borehole records, geology and site investigation evidence for civil engineering ground conditions and geotechnical design.

What's in it

Data offered docs-verified
borehole records · earthquakes data · 1:50 000 scale bedrock geology (including faults) · interactive 3D models (London, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool) · rock samples · photography · data products · hazard maps · geochemistry samples · non-coal mining plans
Coverage llm-inferred
onshore UK (per ENTRY regions: United Kingdom)
Resolution docs-verified
1:50 000 scale for the geology layer
Formats docs-verified
WMS
Access docs-verified
Free web map viewer (no API key documented). Data delivered under the Open Government Licence with a BGS acknowledgement; ENTRY licence field says 'BGS terms'.

Useful for

Use cases llm-inferred
Desk study: nearest borehole records for ground conditions at a site · Preliminary geology and fault screening from 1:50 000 bedrock mapping · Identifying non-coal mining plans and parent material as site constraints
Audience llm-inferred
geotechnical engineers · civils engineers · environmental consultants · GIS analysts · planners

Limitations

Constraints docs-verified
New GeoIndex v1.24.0 is in beta; professional and commercial users are advised to use the existing applications for now · Current onshore and offshore applications are due to be replaced, so the platform may change · Some data layers may be presented differently in the newer application · No warranty on quality, accuracy or completeness of the map data · 3D models are only available for London, Cardiff, Glasgow and Liverpool

United Kingdomhealthy

data apiGovernment / regulator
75.3/100Currency E

BGS web services (WMS/WFS) ↗

British Geological Survey geological WMS and WFS map services for bedrock, superficial deposits and ground conditions in civil engineering site investigation.

What's in it

Data offered llm-inferred
geology map layers (WMS/WFS) · AGS geotechnical data (download service) · UK and worldwide earthquake GeoRSS feeds · BGS dataset and service metadata (OGC CSW catalogue) · British National Grid to WGS84 coordinate conversion
Coverage llm-inferred
United Kingdom
Formats llm-inferred
OGC WMS · OGC WFS · OGC CSW · GeoRSS · AGS
Access llm-inferred
Free/open, no authentication (per entry); licence: OGL / BGS licence

Useful for

Use cases llm-inferred
Overlay geology map layers (WMS) in GIS for desk-study screening of a site · Pull AGS geotechnical data from the download service for ground investigation baselines · Convert British National Grid site coordinates to WGS84 for web mapping · Search the CSW catalogue to locate BGS datasets for a project data review
Audience llm-inferred
geotechnical engineers · civils engineers · GIS analysts · environmental consultants

Limitations

Constraints llm-inferred
Docs do not name the geology layers, map scales or spatial extent offered · Docs describe the AGS download service as free and open; terms for the other services are not stated · Licence (OGL / BGS licence) should be checked before reuse · Earthquake GeoRSS feeds are not geology layers · No rate limits, update schedule or maintenance commitments stated in docs

United Kingdompage reachable

datasetGovernment / regulator
89.9/100Currency E

Check long-term flood risk (NaFRA2) ↗

Environment Agency NaFRA2 Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea national flood likelihood mapping for England.

What's in it

Data offered
long term flood risk for an area, entered by postcode · map showing areas at risk of flooding
Coverage
England
Resolution docs-verified
2 m national grid
Update frequency docs-verified
Quarterly
Formats docs-verified
WMS · raster download
Access docs-verified
Open Government Licence GIS service; download data through the Defra Data Services Platform. NaFRA2 raster downloads require the publisher download process.

Useful for

Use cases
Area-level flood risk screening for a project postcode at early site appraisal · Flood risk context for an FRA scoping note (area, not property) · Map-based review of areas at risk of flooding around a study area
Audience
flood consultants · drainage engineers · planners

Limitations

Constraints docs-verified
National strategic screening data; a site-specific flood risk assessment may require detailed local modelling. · NaFRA2 accounts for flood defences; planning flood zones have a distinct statutory planning purpose.

Englandhealthy

Frequently asked questions

Which listed sources support Groundwater flooding UK?

Start with EA Hydrology API, BGS Geoindex, BGS web services (WMS/WFS). Review groundwater monitoring and geological context alongside other mapped flood mechanisms.

What should I check before using these sources for groundwater flooding uk?

Surface water maps do not establish groundwater flood probability; seek specialist and local historical evidence.

How do I inspect EA Hydrology API through MCP?

Connect an MCP client to https://terramcp.earth/mcp and call get_source with slug ea-hydrology-api. Review its provenance, access requirements and limitations before contacting the upstream service. Discovery does not make every listed source directly executable through the router.

Are these sources free and independently verified?

Access and licence terms belong to each upstream provider; some products require registration or payment. Open each listing for evidence, health status and enrichment provenance. A wrapper and its underlying API can refer to the same dataset and are not independent observations.