DEFRA WATER STAKEHOLDER FORUM
Environment Agency
Update on Progress – March 2011
Operational delivery of River Basin Management Plans
Reasons for failure information
Cycle 2 planning
External engagement
The Hydromorphology Guide
RESTORE
Revised Bathing Water Directive
Priority substances, priority hazardous substances and specific pollutants
Nutrient standards and eutrophication assessment
Drinking Water Protected Areas (DrWPAs)
Diffuse pollution
Operational delivery of River Basin Management Plans
Investigations
At the end of quarter 3 (2010/2011), we had completed 1350 investigations, and a further
4,632 were in progress. This represents 45% of the total programme of investigations. For
more information on the numbers and types of investigations completed and a brief
description of the outcomes please visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wfd.
Measures
There is now an increasing focus on delivery of measures in addition to the investigations
programme. We aim to be able to report the progress of measures through liaison panels
towards the end of July.
Catchment focus for delivery
In late 2010, the Environment Minister Richard Benyon asked us to look at how we might
organise our delivery of water improvements work, with active engagement of partners, on a
catchment basis. While recognising the extensive work we are already doing on WFD
delivery, we are taking a more proactive approach to bringing stakeholders together at a
catchment scale, considering their evidence, using the results of their monitoring and our
own investigations to more fully assess measures and address issues such as diffuse
pollution, using non-regulatory and regulatory approaches. We will be discussing this in more
depth during the meeting on 22 March.
An update from SW Region
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In order to achieve the objectives in an efficient and effective way, capitalising on any
opportunities to improve on the level of ambition, the region have taken the103 waterbodies
aimed to improve to good status, and grouped them with upstream and downstream
waterbodies into ‘clusters’.
They have started a rolling programme to draw together and analyse the information
available for these ‘clusters’ and identify a clear programme for delivering improvements. The
information and action plans are recorded in a ‘Waterbody Implementation Plan’, or ‘WIP’,
and the actions then delivered.
This process focuses our activities to ensure delivery. However, outside WIP areas, there is
still a comprehensive programme of WFD investigations to complete in order to prepare for
the second cycle of River Basin Management Planning. Additionally, we must ensure no
deterioration in status and the delivery of objectives for protected areas (e.g. Natura 2000
and bathing waters), many of which fall outside the current WIP areas. As we learn from
these investigations and obligations, our priorities will be kept under review.
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Reasons for failure information
During the last few months of 2010 our local staff have worked to improve the quality of our
information and reduce uncertainty on the reasons for failure to achieve good status. This
has been done to address short term needs and as part of the river basin planning process
for cycle 2 of river basin management.
The outcomes of this work are presented in the pie charts below. This data represents a
count of the times a reason for failure was cited. There can be multiple failing elements for
each water body and multiple reasons for failure recorded for each of those failing elements.
This means that the same reason for failure can appear multiple times in a water body, linked
to different failing elements. This represents a snapshot of the current understanding of the
reasons for failure data at the time of collation. Regions and areas are continuing to collect
and record reasons for failure as part of their ongoing programme of investigations.
Reasons for Failure 2009
9%
4%
25%
Reasons for Failure 2010
8%
physical modification
3%
9%
4%
diffuse source agriculture
2%
4%
25%
5%
17%
13%
point source w ater industry sew age discharge
continuous
diffuse source non-agric
unknow n reason
6%
15%
uncertain failure
Reasons for Failure 2010
6%
point source w ater industry sew age discharge
intermittent
flowphysical
/ abstraction
modification
3%
11%
2%
4%
18%
diffusedata
source agriculture
suspect
4%
25%
point source w ater industry sew age discharge
point
source non-w ater industry
continuous
5%
diffuse source non-agric
16%
Other
unknow n reason
6%
uncertain failure
6%
point source w ater industry sew age discharge
intermittent
flow / abstraction
18%
suspect data
11%
point source non-w ater industry
16%
Other
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Please note: The data contained in these pie charts is a national collation of reasons for
failure data following a review exercise of diffuse source and unknown reasons for failure
carried out during October to December 2010.
Cycle 2 planning
We have started thinking about our approach for cycle 2 planning and engagement. The
Environment Agency will need help to ensure the process and decision making is transparent
and to maximise the freedom to plan at a catchment level. This will improve environmental
outcomes and where necessary provide clear justification for setting alternative objectives.
Wider involvement will be sought during the Defra Water Stakeholder Forum, the Liaison
Panels and 1 to 1 meetings over the coming months.
Communications and external engagement
River Basin District Liaison Panels will be meeting over the next few months. The main focus
of these meetings will be to discuss outcomes of investigations and progress with measures.
The National Liaison Panel for England will meet on 4 April 2011.
The key focus of our national activity over the next six months will be to take an integrated,
strategic and consistent approach to external stakeholder engagement; supporting regions to
strengthen local engagement and the commitment to deliver; and developing an engagement
strategy for cycle 2 planning. The first meeting of our cross organisational group focusing on
engagement will take place on 6 April, after which we aim to seek representation from
external organisations on this group.
The Hydromorphology guide
We have produced a river basin management guide to hydromorphology, which supports the
first cycle River Basin Management Plans, by providing additional information on
hydromorphology in six separate documents. You should read these if you want to know
what hydromorphology is and its role in the Water Framework Directive.
The documents cover the following areas:






How we identify heavily modified water bodies.
How we assess ecological potential.
How we are improving our understanding of hydromorphology.
How we set the objectives for hydromorphological improvement.
How we are going to achieve the actions to improve hydromorphology.
What mitigation measures will be put in place to achieve the objectives.
If you would like to receive any or all of these documents please email
hydromorphology@environment-agency.gov.uk
RESTORE
The RESTORE project seeks to support existing and future river restoration activities across
Europe. The first step will be to understand ‘state of the art’ best practice in Europe and
further afield. An understanding of the needs/barriers and potential conflicts to successful
river restoration implementation and database of current projects will be developed via a
series of baseline studies in four European regions. This early work will identify specific
projects and activities that address river environmental problems and examine how they
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relate to implementing EU Directives. Follow-on activities will identify river restoration main
target audiences and promote the sharing of best practice, including: understanding policy
opportunities and constraints, technical information, the effectiveness of restoration methods,
costs, design techniques, economic information, costs and benefits.
Revised Bathing Water Directive
The revised Directive poses a number of challenges for the Environment Agency, the
Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Local Authorities and Beach
Operators.
It sets more stringent water quality standards and also puts a stronger emphasis on beach
management and public information.
The key work areas we have to support our move to the revised Directive are:

The development of bathing water profiles for all bathing waters, and a general
description based on the profile to be displayed on signage at the bathing water. The
profiles are on schedule to be published on the net on the 24th March.

Based on 2010 predictions we currently have 51 bathing waters which will not meet
the standards of the rBWD in 2015 without improvement. We have therefore focused
an analysis of actions for improvements on these waters and we are reviewing these
actions as a priority. The analysis will be used to highlight any areas of difficulty in
implementing improvements so that we can plan for improving application of
measures on waters which do not comply with the rBWD..
Within the revised Bathing Water Directive, the main changes that we will be responsible for
implementing, and communicating, include:

Much more stringent microbiological standards and the cessation of monitoring for
physico chemical parameters monitored under the current Bathing Water Directive.

A change from measuring compliance using the pass/fail approach to classification
based on four classes: poor/sufficient/good/excellent.

The rBWD requirement for us to reach sufficient class at all bathing waters by 2015.

The requirement to supply more information so the public can choose where to bathe.
The current directive will be repealed in 2015 when the final stages of the revised Bathing
Water Directive (2006/7/EC) come into force.
Our timelines for delivery are:
1. In 2008 the first list of bathing waters under the revised Bathing Water Directive was
created.
2. On 24th March 2011 we will publish bathing water profiles for all bathing waters on the
web.
3. In 2012 monitoring will begin for a 4 year classification to be done in 2015.
4. In 2015 we will publish our first classification of bathing waters under the revised Bathing
Water Directive.
Priority substances, priority hazardous substances and specific pollutants
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The Environmental Quality Standards Directive (EQS)
The EQS Directive replaces the Dangerous Substances Directive and establishes
environmental quality standards for 33 priority and priority hazardous substances.
Compliance with these EQS forms the basis of Good Surface Water Chemical Status under
the Water Framework Directive. We published Pollution Reduction Plans for these
substances in December 2009.
The EQS Directive sets additional objectives in relation to emissions of priority hazardous
substances, concentrations of chemicals in sediment and biota, and requirements for
monitoring and reporting. It was transposed into national legislation in August through the
updated Ministerial Direction on Typology and Standards. We are currently developing the
approaches needed for its full implementation, including work with Defra to assess the
requirement to cease or phase out emissions, discharges and losses of priority hazardous
substances.
The EU have produced a short-list of further “candidate” priority substances. We are involved
in EQS development for some of these substances. We expect that any new priority
substances will be added to the scope of EQS Directive before the second cycle of River
Basin Planning.
Specific pollutants
There is also work underway to identify additional chemicals for national designation as
specific pollutants. A consultation on proposals will be initiated in late 2011; this could include
revisions to standards for existing specific pollutants, new designations and proposals on the
use of bioavailability-based standards for metals.
Nutrient standards and eutrophication assessment
UKTAG1 intends to review nutrient standards by 2012, for potential application in the second
cycle of river basin management plans. The review includes standards for phosphorus in
rivers and lakes, and will be based on improved understanding of the relationships between
phosphorus and biology. It will also take into account the outcome of the EU intercalibration
process. We anticipate that, as previously, there will be the opportunity for stakeholder
review of the proposed standards prior to recommendations to government.
UKTAG is also undertaking work to inform weight of evidence approaches to assessing the
effects of eutrophication. The results will be shared with interested stakeholders in the
summer.
Drinking Water Protected Areas (DrWPAs)
Our risk assessment of surface and groundwater DrWPAs in England and Wales indicated
that the main pressures are pesticides, colour and nitrates. These occur largely, but not
exclusively, as a result of farming and rural land management practices. A programme of
investigations and measures was agreed, which address a range of sectors and utilises a
variety of delivery mechanisms from PR09 to the Catchment Sensitive Farming initiative.
In the last 12 months, our work on DrWPAs has focussed on producing the information
required for the first cycle River Basin Management Plans, establishing the necessary
1
The United Kingdom Technical Advisory Group (UKTAG) supports the implementation of the Water Framework
Directive. It is a partnership of the UK environment and conservation agencies.
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monitoring network and refining risk assessments . As we move into the implementation
phase, we want to embed work on DrWPAs into the business and turn our attention to the
development of partnerships and national measures and mechanisms for the second river
basin planning cycle. These will include working with OFWAT, the Chemical Regulation
Directorate, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, industry and NGOs to address pressures.
Diffuse Pollution
The Environment Agency Diffuse Pollution Project is part of the WFD Programme and aims
to co-ordinate actions to address diffuse pollution and ensure recommendations from the
NAO survey of diffuse pollution are taken forward. The project has developed a strategic
approach to addressing agricultural and non-agricultural diffuse water pollution that links
levels of evidence of impact and source apportionment to the selection of appropriate ways
(mechanisms) to deliver measures. The approach is now embedded in the developing
‘catchment approach’ for River Basin Planning that will help to identify and engage with key
delivery partners. We are working with Natural England to understand how it relates to key
agricultural measures (such as cross-compliance and agri-environment). We are also
developing guidance on ‘catchment walk-overs’ to help improve our evidence to tackle
diffuse water pollution.
The Diffuse Pollution Project will focus on building ‘value for money’ measures into our
operational processes including the development of a cost-effectiveness tool for appraising
action to tackle diffuse pollution, and an assessment of the value of interventions.
The Environment Agency and Defra will develop a joint strategy on non-agricultural diffuse
pollution in the forthcoming year. In the short term this will focus on priority sources where we
have strong evidence of impacts such as road run-off, misconnections, contaminated
sediment and run-off from industrial estates. We will gather more evidence where we have
less understanding. We will advise on local and partnership interventions to ensure best
value for money.
Environment Agency Water Framework Directive Programme, Water Quality and Land
Quality
March 2011
Environment Agency Update – March 2011
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