Environment Agency WFD guidance - Managing water for people, business, agriculture and the environment

Environment Agency: Water Management Notes

Environment Agency Overview

• The Environment Agency (EA) protects and improves the environment in England.
• It addresses environmental changes impacting people's lives.
• Key responsibilities include:
  • Reducing flood risks.
  • Ensuring sufficient water for people and wildlife.
  • Protecting and improving air, land, and water quality.
  • Enforcing environmental standards for industries.
  • Reducing climate change impacts and helping adaptation.
• The EA collaborates with government, businesses, local authorities, and communities.

The Importance of Water

• Water is vital for life, the environment, business, agriculture, and the economy.
• It provides drinking water, supports fisheries, and serves as a resource for business and agriculture.
• It supplies transport routes and recreational opportunities that promote wellbeing.
• Water management is crucial for meeting the long-term needs of society, the economy, and wildlife.
• The National Audit Office (2005) considers water's value to the economy to be 'incalculable'.
• The EA plays a major role in water management in England.

Environment Agency's Main Aims

• The EA has four main aims:
  • Protect and improve water quality.
  • Reduce flood risk.
  • Ensure sufficient water for people, agriculture, business and environment.
  • Support sustainable growth.

Part I: The Water Environment: Nature, State, and Challenges

1. The Nature and State of the Water Environment

• The water environment is a dynamic system influenced by natural forces and human activities.
• Improvements have been made in restoring waters and wetlands after centuries of industrial development.
• The water environment includes surface and underground waters, landscapes, and wildlife.
• Characteristics vary across England, from headwaters to the sea.
• Scales of the water include:
  • River basins: drain water into the sea.
  • Catchments: main units for water management planning.
  • Water bodies: rivers, lakes, groundwaters, estuaries, coastal waters, and wetlands.
• The water cycle (hydrological cycle) constantly cycles water, purifying it, replenishing land, and transporting minerals.
• It shapes landscapes, regulates the carbon cycle and local climates, and plays a role in heat exchange.
• Human activities, like water supply and wastewater disposal, can disrupt the natural cycle if not properly managed.

Processes in the Water Cycle

• Understanding different processes in the water cycle helps ensure uses of the water environment are sustained.
  • Water covers about three-quarters of the Earth.
  • Only 2.5% of Earth’s water is freshwater, mostly in ice-caps and groundwater.
  • Less than 0.3% of freshwater is in rivers and lakes.

Natural Forces Influencing Water

• Rainfall:
  • Varies seasonally and regionally.
  • Influences water quantity and quality.
  • Effective rainfall and population determine water supply availability.
  • Variability in rainfall affects flood and drought management.
  • Heavy rainfall can cause water pollution.
• Flows:
  • Rainfall, geology, and catchment shape determine river flows.
  • Flows influence river and wetland ecology.
  • Variation in flows determines water habitats.
  • River flows affect water quality and oxygen balance.
  • Faster flows typically have well-oxygenated water.
  • Slower flows have marked oxygen level changes.
  • Pollution disrupts the oxygen cycle.
• Geology:
  • Influences water body distribution (e.g., groundwaters in sandstone and limestone).
  • Determines water chemistry.
  • Upland rivers are more acidic than lowland rivers.
  • Acidity affects chemical availability and toxicity.
• Flooding:
  • Natural process when waters overflow into floodplains and coastal areas.
  • Rural and urban development changed drainage patterns.
  • Man-made drainage systems can overload.
  • Flood risks need management to protect households, businesses and public services.
• The most common forms of flooding are:
  • River flooding: watercourse capacity is exceeded.
  • Coastal flooding: high tides and storms combine.
  • Surface water flooding: rainfall overwhelms local drainage.
  • Sewer flooding: sewers are overwhelmed or blocked.
  • Groundwater flooding: water levels rise above the surface.
• National Flood Risk Assessment (2009) shows:
  • 5.2 million (1 in 6) properties in England are at risk of flooding.
  • 2.4 million properties are at risk from rivers and the sea.
  • 34% of water and sewage pumping stations/treatment works are at significant risk.
• Flood risk assessments inform decisions on flood and coastal risk management.
• Coastal erosion:
  • Natural process of wave action breaking down sediments and rocks.
  • Coastline changes due to geological processes and sea level changes.
  • Erosion rates vary with local geology.
  • Softer rocks erode more quickly.
  • Climate change is predicted to increase erosion rates.
  • Around 1,800 km of England's coast is at risk, with 340km currently defended.
  • Approximately 700 properties are vulnerable in the next 20 years, and another 2,000 in the next 50 years.
• Coastal erosion and coastal flooding are often linked.
• Shoreline Management Plans have been developed by Coastal Groups to manage coastal processes.

Water Habitats and Wildlife

• The UK National Ecosystem Assessment (2011) found water habitat losses are among the fastest in the UK.
• Many wetlands and floodplains have been lost or degraded.
• Priority habitats, like chalk rivers and coastal saltmarshes, continue to decline.
• Some species are still at risk, including plants, invertebrate animals, and fish.
• Invasive, non-native plants, such as Himalayan balsam, threaten river habitats.
• Numbers of migratory fish, including Atlantic salmon and eels, have been falling.
  • Around one third of important salmon rivers were classified as ‘at risk’ in 2011.
  • The number of young eels migrating into rivers across Europe is less than 5% of pre-1980 levels.
• Habitat loss, sea level rise, water pollution, unsustainable water abstraction, and invasive species impact biodiversity.
• Efforts to regenerate waters have had some successes:
  • Atlantic salmon and brown trout have returned to rivers like the Thames and Mersey.
  • Otters have returned to every English county.

Water Quality

• The Industrial Revolution caused water quality deterioration.
• Industry, urbanization, and changes in farming practices contributed to this decline.
• Trends reversed in many areas with improvements in rivers, lakes, estuaries, and bathing waters.
• Improvements due to:
  • Water industry investment to improve wastewater treatment.
  • Reductions in discharges from industry and businesses.
  • Campaigns to prevent pollution from farms and industry.
  • Regulation to enforce standards and take action against polluters.
• The General Quality Assessment (GQA) scheme assesses water quality changes.
  • In 1990, the chemical quality of 55% of monitored rivers was good or excellent, improving to 80% by 2009.
  • For biological quality, the improvement was from 63% to 73% over the same period.
• Water quality in coastal areas has also improved, from 79% of bathing waters meeting standards in 1990 to 98% in 2011.
• There has been an improvement in the quality of waters used for producing shellfish over the last decade.
• Groundwater quality faces issues with rising levels of pollutants, including nitrate and pesticides.
• Pollutants take a long time to migrate and disperse, making removal expensive.
• Since 2009, waters have been monitored using Water Framework Directive classification schemes.
  • In 2009, 26 % of surface waters achieved good status or higher, decreasing slightly to 25 % in 2012.

What is 'Good' Status?

• 'Good' status, from the Water Framework Directive, means a slight deviation from natural conditions.
• The Directive aims for all waters to achieve good status unless there are valid reasons otherwise.
• Good status is defined through classification schemes:
  • Biological: algae, water plants, invertebrates, fish.
  • Physical: hydromorphology, including flows and structure.
  • Chemical: natural elements, specific pollutants, and priority hazardous substances.
• Groundwater classification includes quantity but not biology.
• Reaching good status may not be achievable for some water bodies due to cost or technical difficulty.
• In these cases, the aim is to achieve their best possible status.

Water Availability

• Assessing water resources and pressures helps understand water availability across the country.
• Freshwater taken from the environment has declined by more than a quarter between 2000 and 2009.
• Water resources are under stress in parts of the country, including the south and east of England.
• These regions have high populations and higher water consumption per person.
• The amount of water available per person in south east England is less than in some Mediterranean countries.

2. Challenges in Protecting and Improving Waters

• Understanding pressures helps implement actions to protect and improve waters.

Reasons Why Waters Fail to Achieve Good Status

• Physical modification:
  • The biggest reason why waters fail to achieve good status, affecting over half of waters across England.
  • Rivers, lakes, and coastal waters have been changed over centuries.
  • Changes include creating water supplies, draining land, and reducing flood risks.
  • Engineering can change water body size and alter flows.
  • It reduces the diversity of physical features and connections with floodplains.
  • Surveys showed that 43% of river channels have been altered and 8% of river banks have been reinforced.
  • Removing trees has reduced shading of rivers, which could increase water temperature.
• Measures to achieve good status include:
  • Restoring water levels and flows.
  • Improving habitats, such as pools and meanders.
  • Overcoming physical barriers and re-connecting water bodies.
  • Promoting ecosystem services, like using wetlands to reduce flood risks.
  • Where waters have been heavily modified, aim for their best ecological potential.
• Sharing knowledge on river restoration in Europe- the ‘RESTORE’ partnership
  • River restoration can improve ecological quality, reduce flood risks, economic regeneration, and improved quality of life for local communities.
  • The ‘RESTORE’ project is a partnership for sharing knowledge and promoting best practice on river restoration in Europe.

Restoring Sustainable Abstraction

• Abstracting water can alter river flows, deplete groundwater and reduce flows to springs.
• Water abstraction is the third most frequent reason waters do not achieve good status.
• Restoring Sustainable Abstractions (RSA) is a major initiative to investigate and restore sustainable abstractions at around 250 sites across England.
  • About half of these concern abstractions for public water supply and around a third are related to agriculture.
• Further investment needs to be targeted through the water companies’ Water Resource Management Plans.
• Measures to reduce demand and promote more efficient use of water are also needed in the agricultural sector.

Water Pollution

• Nutrients - phosphorus and nitrate:
  • Excessive Nutrients can cause eutrophication, affecting the ecological quality of waters and drinking water treatment costs.
  • Measures have reduced phosphorus and nitrogen levels in rivers.
  • Long-term monitoring shows phosphorus levels returning to 1940s levels.
  • Despite declining trends, many rivers and lakes have phosphorus levels exceeding standards.
  • Sewage effluent and agriculture are the largest sources of phosphorus and nitrate.
  • It can take a long time for the ecology to recover where nutrients are locked in sediments.
• Sewage effluent and farm waste:
  • Can lower oxygen levels, affecting fish and other species.
  • Contains ammonia, which is toxic to fish.
  • Contains bacteria and micro-organisms that can damage human health.
  • Dissolved oxygen and ammonia levels are a reason for failure to achieve good status.
  • Contamination presents problems in meeting water quality standards for bathing and shellfish waters.
• Sediment from land run-off:
  • Can damage their ecology, smothering habitats and affecting fish spawning sites.
  • Can transport chemicals, nutrients and bacteria.
  • Can also clog and change the shape of river channels, causing an increased risk of flooding.
• Chemicals:
  • Pesticides, metals, and organic chemicals can be harmful to wildlife and human health.
  • They enter waters from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural land, or the atmosphere.
  • Environmental Quality Standards (EQSs) regulate discharges.
  • Waters fail to achieve good chemical status due to priority substances exceeding EQSs.

3. An Uncertain Future

• A growing population, increasing water demand, and climate change will pressure the water environment.

Global Pressures

• The United Nation’s Global Environment Outlook (GEO 5) paints a picture of acute water stress in many regions of the world.
• On average each person in the UK uses about 150 litres of tap water a day.
• Average water consumption is around 3400 litres every day.
• About two-thirds of the embedded water used in the UK is imported in services and products from other countries.

A Growing Population

• The population of England is forecast to grow by nearly 10 million by 2035 and by 15 million by 2050,
• A growing population will place more demand on water resources.
• some scenarios suggest an increase in water demand of around 5% by 2020 and as much as 35% by 2050 unless further water efficiency measures are adopted.
• Extra demand for public supply could put a greater burden on existing infrastructure.

A Changing Climate

• Along with increasing demand from a growing population, a changing climate could also have a major impact on water availability.
• Higher temperatures could increase demand on resources, as more water is needed for irrigation, and in homes and gardens.
• Changes in rainfall and evaporation could affect natural river flows.
• Re-using water returned to rivers as treated effluent will become more important.
• River flows in some parts of the country could be as much as 80% lower by the 2050s.
• Heavier rainfall may impact on water quality through runoff from agricultural land, urban surfaces and increased discharges from combined sewer overflows.
• More intense rainfall could increase the risk of flooding of properties and critical infrastructure such as water treatment works, pumping stations and power generating stations.
• Climate Change and rising sea levels
• A changing climate is also likely to result in increased sea levels and coastal erosion. As well as posing a major risk to property, this may threaten sewerage infrastructure and transfer salt water into rivers and groundwater, affecting ecology, water supply and irrigation.
• The water and wastewater sectors provide important national infrastructure and much of this is ageing. For example, the average age of a London sewer is 63 years old.
• Wasting water through leakage from water distribution networks continues to be a major problem.

Part II Water Management: Our Contribution

4. Our Roles

• The EA manages water as an operator, regulator, and adviser.
• It protects and improves the water environment, guided by government policy and legislation.
• Key functions include flood risk management, water resources, water quality, biodiversity, fisheries, angling, and navigation.

The Principles That Guide Our Work

• Focus on outcomes and risk reduction.
• Take an integrated approach.
• Work in partnership.
• Base decisions on evidence.
• Be open and transparent.

Managing Water

• Prioritize effort and resources to reduce risks and benefits people and wildlife.
• Iterative cycle involves:
  • Monitoring.
  • Planning.
  • Taking action.
  • Checking compliance.

Strategic Overview

• Coordinate own work with other organizations.
• Oversee progress with national strategies and plans.
• The Environment Agency is the lead organisation for flooding from main rivers, estuaries and the sea, and reservoirs.
• Lead coastal erosion risk management authorities (including the Environment Agency for some parts of the coast).
• Monitor and report on flood and coastal erosion risk management, including reporting on the implementation of the National FCERM Strategy.
• Act as the competent authority for Water Framework Directive implementation.
• Oversee water resources management.

Our Role as Operator

• Flood and coastal risk management:
  • Working with our partners, we manage flood defences and structures on over 23,000 miles of rivers including flood banks, pumping stations, locks and sluices. We also manage around 1000 miles of sea defences.
• Water Resources:
  • We allocate water resources to sectors, including water companies, industry and farmers, making sure that there is enough water for homes, agriculture, businesses and the environment.
• Wildlife and fisheries
  • We help to protect and improve nationally and internationally important wildlife sites and species.
• Navigation
  • Our work provides a better and safer place for people to enjoy the environment. We work with others to promote the use of inland and coastal waters for recreation.

Our Role as Regulator

• The work as a regulator includes protecting and improving the environment and reducing risks to people and wildlife.
• We monitor the water environment to assess the extent to which these standards are being achieved and carry out investigations to understand the reasons why, if they are not being achieved.
• Regulatory approach serves both society and businesses to bring about better outcomes for the environment.

Our Role as Adviser

• We provide information and advice to national and local government to support policy and decision-making.
• We carry out the monitoring that is necessary for government to report to the European Commission on progress and compliance with European legislation.
• We provide advice to planning authorities to ensure that new development is appropriate and safe.
• We use the best available scientific evidence to assess new and emerging risks, for example the release of endocrine disrupting chemicals into water, and provide advice on what can be done to address these risks.

Working with Others

• We work with many different organizations and communities across the country, providing services to our customers and working in partnership on programmes and projects, and day-to-day operations.
• These include: Government departments, Other government agencies, Other regulators, Water companies, Business sectors, Local authorities, The emergency services and health authorities, Local organisations and communities

5. Planning and Implementation

• Taking an integrated approach involves bringing together our different functions and working with others at river basin, catchment, and local levels.

Why We Need an Integrated Approach

• The water cycle involves many different processes that interact. A change in one part of the cycle has consequences for another.
• Through river basin and catchment plans, we recognize the important interactions between land and water, and between water quantity and quality.

Planning For the Future

• Water management planning involves taking a long-term view. We need to anticipate possible changes in the future, such as the demands of a growing population and the impacts of a changing climate.
• Long-term planning provides the context for shorter-term planning cycles as ‘stepping stones’ towards the long-term goals.

Priorities for Protecting and Improving Waters

• Practical to improve all waters to reach good status at the same time. It is often necessary to plan many years ahead to secure the investment needed to make the necessary improvements. Main priorities in targeting future investment and action:
  • To protect and improve those waters designated as most important to society
  • To protect the existing status of waters by preventing deterioration.
  • To make improvements to waters that offer the best value to local communities with the aim of achieving good status

Water industry investment and the National Environment Programme

• We work with the water industry to develop long-term solutions that better protect the water environment and secure wider benefits to society and the economy.
• We will see: A resilient water industry that manages its infrastructure to reduce flood risk and meet the challenges of growth, development and a changing climate, no deterioration in the current quality of the environment, and catchments at or moving towards good ecological status or potential, a secure water supply with properly managed demands that ensures enough water for people, agriculture, business and the environment, bathing and shellfish water quality and priority habitats protected and improved where required.

The Water Framework Directive

• The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) provides the main framework for managing the water environment throughout Europe.
• At its heart is an ecosystem approach that requires measures to be taken to promote the sustainable use of water and to protect and improve inland surface and groundwaters and coastal waters, with the aim of achieving good status.

Priorities for Improving Waters

• Improve the status of water and wetland ecosystems.
• Encourage the sustainable use of water.
• Reduce water pollution.
• Protect groundwater resources.
• Achieve water quality standards in protected areas.

River Basin Planning

• Provide an overview of how our rivers will be managed and the actions that will be undertaken to improve the water environment.

• Involving local groups in making decisions.
  Catchment Planning

• Breaking down districts into catchments allows more detailed planning.

• Catchment-based approach recognizes the different strengths, knowledge and capacity that organizations and community groups can bring.

6. The Benefits of Our Work

• The work in managing water provides a wide range of benefits to people, the economy and the environment.
• Ensuring a reliable water supply.
• Protecting and improving the quality of our waters.
• Protecting people, homes, businesses and infrastructure from dangers such as flooding.
• Preventing the damaging effects of pollution.
• Improving efficiency in the use of water resources.
• Reducing the regulatory burden on businesses.

7. Our Response to the Challenges Ahead

• Significant progress has been made over the last 20 years but there is still action and investment required to ensure that the systems and infrastructure are capable of supporting a growing population and are resilient to a changing climate.

Ways To Work

• To be successful in facing these challenges, we will continue to focus on improving the ways in which we work with our customers and supporting the development and performance of our employees.

Our Main Aims

• We have four main aims that will guide our work over the next few years. Together, these are part of the Environment Agency’s principal aim to contribute towards achieving sustainable development.

• Protect and improve waters so that they are clean and healthy.

• Reduce the risks of flooding and coastal erosion.

• Make sure there is enough water for people, agriculture, business and the environment.

• Support sustainable growth.