Guidance Papers supporting Implementation of WFD across the UK

UKTAG has agreed guidance papers to support consistent WFD implementation across the UK.  These have been placed on the web-site grouped under the different articles of the WFD and include:

• Working papers agreed by UK Administration that have been submitted to European work groups.   The principles outlined in these documents may change according to European negotiations but set out the general direction of UK policy in the making.
• Guidance supporting implementation of the WFD in the UK, which has been signed off by the UKTAG, reflecting current state of thinking.  These will evolve and improve as the competent authorities trial and adopt the approaches outlined in the guidance. 

1. Article 5 (undertaken 2003-2004) (key terms: characterisation, typology, pressures and impacts analysis)

During 2003-2004, the first round of work under article 5 of the Directive will see

• First broad characterisation of UK waters under the Directive (including the typology of surface waters and the establishment of type specific reference conditions);
• The initial results of the pressures and impacts analysis that may put water bodies at risk; as well as
• The preparation of Article 5 report template to the European commission covering both the initial reporting of characterisation and pressures and impacts analysis as required under Article 5.

The UK TAG and its task teams view this as the first round of work that will be subsequently be improved in future years, as scientific methods are improved and more data becomes available. Future work will also include economic analysis.  

1.1 Documents: Article 5 report

• Report Template for reporting under Article 5 of the WFD is an European submission that identifies the factors that may be reported by UK domestically on its River Basin Districts.

Note: The requirements for the UK report to the European commission is not defined. It may contain a briefer summary of the elements reported domestically within the UK.

1.2 Documents: Characterisation of UK waters

1.2.a) Identification of water bodies:

• Guidance WP3a Identification of small surface water bodies
• Guidance 6a Groundwater bodies and islands

 Whilst large water-bodies can easily be identified, there is a need to establish thresholds for defining small waterbodies – which can be identified and further characterised in second stage of the characterisation process as permitted under the WFD

1.2.b) Describing UK water bodies into common types (Typology)

Typology Guidance for lakes, rivers and marine environments outlines how these waterbodies will be described as types within the characterisation process.

• Guidance WP2a (01) marine
• Guidance WP2a (02) lakes
• Guidance WP2a (03) rivers
• Guidance 5a-b (01) terrestrial ecosystems and groundwater
• Guidance WP6a (02) groundwater characterisation
• Guidance WP6a (01) groundwater bodies & islands

1.2.c) Type-specific reference conditions for surface water body types

Under Annex II of the Directive, each Member State need to prepare reference conditions for each type of surface water body (including hydromorphological and physico-chemical quality elements).

• Guidance 8a(01) lakes
• Guidance 8a (02) rivers
• Guidance 8a (03) marine (available July 2004)

1.3 Documents: pressures and impacts analysis

Guidance supporting the definition of pressures and impacts and assignment of water bodies to risk categories.  Specific guidance will be included where available (e.g. Groundwater abstraction and flow regulation, morphological pressures, etc). These methods will be tested and developed during 2004.

Three risk categories are posed as outlined in WP7a. Focusing on identifying:

• Guidance WP7a: General Principles for Risk Assessment
• Guidance WP7b + Annex: Abstraction & Flow Regulation
• Guidance WP7c (01) & (02): Morphological pressures & alterations
• Guidance 7d: Point source discharges (not yet available) 
• Guidance 7f: (01) Use of impact data for lakes (not yet available); (02) Use of impact data for rivers. Guidance 7f(03) for coastal and transitional waters
• Guidance 7g.(i) Assessment of Alien Species 
• Guidance 7h: Abstraction & Recharge Pressures on Groundwater
• Guidance 7i: Pollution pressures on groundwater.
• Guidance 5a-b (01) Terrestrial ecosystems and groundwater

2. Article 6 & Article 7 (undertaken 2003-2004)_(key terms: special water bodies protection registers, natura protected areas, drinking water protected areas)

Under Article 6, competent authorities need to establish a register or registers identifying those areas as requiring special protection under other Directives or legislation. This includes those areas defined as conservation of habitats and species depending on water as well as those water bodies that provide drinking water.

• Natura Protected areas
  • Guidance WP4a (03) – Natura Protected Areas

• Drinking Waters Protected Areas
  • Guidance WP4a (01) – this guidance is under review as further clarification is being sought with regards to the extent of UK’s obligations.

3. Article 8 (undertaken 2004-2006) (key terms: monitoring, classification tools, intercalibration, ECOSTAT)

3.1 UK Monitoring Regimes

UK is required to put into place a regime of monitoring of water bodies that supports monitoring their status in terms of risk of not meeting the objectives of WFD by 2006. This requires the UK to establish:

• classification tools and methods that will support monitoring of status.   This program of information gathering and method development is proceeding during 2004-2005. This will result in updating of the UKTAG guidance under Article 5 and 6.  Any interim reports will be more likely available as R&D reports on www.wfddatabase.com
• an overall monitoring framework that support meeting the different requirements of the Directives and future Program of Measures.a) operational and survellliance monitoring to track base-line changes in status of UK water bodies; as well as b) compliance monitoring.  UKTAG will assist develop the framework for this during 2004-2005.

3.2 Intercalibration across Europe

UK is taking part in the European intercalibration process (known as ECOSTAT) that will support defining the thresholds between statuses of water bodies under the WFD (high, good, moderate, poor).

The UK's Intercalibration Steering Group with the Rivers, Lakes and Marine task teams have identified the network of sites across the UK and providing this information into the European register.   The European register of sites can be found at: http://ies.jrc.cec.eu.int/eewai/

Supporting documents

• European Submission WP10a (01)
• Selection criteria for UK sites (02a) (Annex 1)

Article 11 (undertaken 2006-2012) (key terms: Program of Measures, River Basin Planning)

An Program of Measures will need to be developed for each River Basin District taking into consideration the results of characterisation and pressures and impact assessment. This work will be taken subsequent to river basin district planning. Initial reviews of the requirements of this Article under the Directive will be initiated 2005 onwards.