Guidance

Appendix A: using geographic databases

Updated 28 April 2020

Applies to England

漏 Crown copyright 2020

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected].

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at /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鈥檚 (EA) Catchment Data Explorer (CDE) database to find out what鈥檚 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
  2. Use the 鈥榮earch by鈥� drop down menu to choose a search criteria.
  3. Type your search term in the next field.
  4. Click on 鈥楽earch鈥�.

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 鈥楬elp鈥� 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 Designated Sites View (DSV) database for designated site information, such as:

  • assessment of the site鈥檚 condition
  • remedies
  • threats

3.1 Using the Magic map system

  1. Open the .
  2. Go to the table of contents.
  3. Tick the 鈥楧esignations鈥� box.
  4. Click on the 鈥�+鈥� to expand the Designations menu.
  5. Untick the designated sites you don鈥檛 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 鈥榠鈥� 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
  2. In the search fields, type: site name (if you know it), designation type, county.
  3. Click on 鈥楽earch鈥�.
  4. You鈥檒l get a list of all sites.
  5. Click on 鈥榁iew Details鈥� 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 鈥榁iew Condition of Units鈥� to see the latest assessment of the site鈥檚 condition.
Back to top