Guidance

Appendix A: using geographic databases

Updated 28 April 2020

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2020

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-environment-grant-weg-handbooks-guidance-and-forms/appendix-a-using-geographic-databases

1. How to find information on a water body

You should use the Environment Agency’s (EA) Catchment Data Explorer (CDE) database to find out what’s relevant in your project proposal area:

  • River Basin District (RBD)
  • Water Framework Directive (WFD) management catchment
  • water body
  • reference and identification numbers
  • grid references
  • water body objectives
  • Reason for Not Achieving Good status (RNAG)
  • Reason for Deterioration status (RFD)

1.1 Using the CDE database

  1. Open the CDE on the EA website.
  2. Use the ‘search by’ drop down menu to choose a search criteria.
  3. Type your search term in the next field.
  4. Click on ‘Search’.

The search will create a map of the location requested. Zoom in and select either:

  • management catchment
  • operational catchment
  • water body

Selecting a water body will provide some summary information about that area. This includes water body and element status.

Selecting a management or operational catchment will provide links to all the water bodies within that catchment. It will also show 5 links:

  • Summary
  • Classification search
  • Objectives search
  • Reasons for not achieving good status
  • Measures

You can use these links to provide further information on all the water bodies in the catchment.

You can also download the data for a single water body or all the water bodies in a catchment or RBD.

Each RNAG and RFD is broken down into 3 categories:

  • the significant water management issue (SWMI)
  • the activity this links to
  • related category or business sector

For more information, you should click on ‘Help’ at the top of the screen.

2. How to find WFD Protected Areas

3. How to find information on a designated site

You should use Defra’s Magic map system to find out the location of designated sites, which include:

  • special areas of conservation
  • special protection areas
  • Ramsar sites
  • marine conservation zones
  • sites of special scientific interest

You should use Natural England’s Designated Sites View (DSV) database for designated site information, such as:

  • assessment of the site’s condition
  • remedies
  • threats

3.1 Using the Magic map system

  1. Open the Magic database.
  2. Go to the table of contents.
  3. Tick the ‘Designations’ box.
  4. Click on the ‘+’ to expand the Designations menu.
  5. Untick the designated sites you don’t need to find.
  6. Zoom in on the map, using the + under the map compass, or type in a postcode in the search box.
  7. Click in the identify tool ‘i’ in the tool bar, then click on a feature on the map to find out about the designation, its name and its grid reference number.

3.2 Using the DSV database

  1. Open the DSV database.
  2. In the search fields, type: site name (if you know it), designation type, county.
  3. Click on ‘Search’.
  4. You’ll get a list of all sites.
  5. Click on ‘View Details’ to find out more about the site, including:
  • a map showing its location
  • the type of designation
  • reasons for the designation
  • summary condition of the site
  1. Click on ‘View Condition of Units’ to see the latest assessment of the site’s condition.
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