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The North West river basin district covers approximately 13,200km2. It extends from Cumbria in the north and includes parts of Staffordshire to the south, parts of North Yorkshire in the east and Merseyside to the west.
In total, nearly 7 million people live and work in the North West and the district includes large urban areas such as Liverpool and Manchester.
The North West river basin district has a rich diversity of wildlife and habitats, supporting many species of global and national importance. These include migratory salmon rivers with native white clawed crayfish and pearl mussel populations and lakes containing the Arctic char and the rare vendace.
The management catchments that make up the river basin district include many interconnected rivers, lakes, groundwater and coastal waters. These catchments include, for example, lakes and rivers in the Lake District and significant sandstone aquifers used for public water abstraction.
Around 80% of the river basin district is rural, with the majority of land being used for agriculture. Livestock farming is the most common rural land use, which has shaped much of the landscape. The Lake District and Lancashire coast are tourism centres and make a significant contribution to the local economy.
Classifications data for North West River Basin District
Number of water bodies
The number of water bodies in the river basin district. It shows
whether these are natural, artificial (such as canals and reservoirs) or
have been modified ('heavily modified') for particular uses.
Water body categories
Natural
Artificial
Heavily modified
Total
River, canals and surface water transfers
260
25
153
438
Lake
30
10
106
146
Coastal
2
0
3
5
Estuarine
4
0
7
11
Groundwater
18
0
0
18
Total
314
35
269
618
Ecological status for surface waters
Table summarises the current ecological status
of surface water bodies. Water bodies are
classified as being at high, good, moderate, poor
or bad ecological status or potential.
Ecological status or potential
Bad
Poor
Moderate
Good
High
Total
Number of water bodies
17
61
390
130
1
599
Number of water body elements
88
286
656
778
3268
5076
Chemical status for surface waters
Table summarises the current chemical status of
water bodies. These are classified as being at
good or fail.
Table summarises the quantitative status of
groundwater water bodies. These are classified as
being at good or poor.
Quantitative status
Poor
Good
Total
Number of water bodies
5
13
18
Number of water body elements
5
67
72
Chemical status for groundwater
Table summarises the chemical status of
groundwater water bodies. These are classified as
being at good or poor.
Chemical status
Poor
Good
Total
Number of water bodies
10
8
18
Number of water body elements
16
74
90
Challenges data for North West River Basin District
Reasons for not achieving good status by business sector
The issues preventing waters reaching good status and the sectors
identified as contributing to them. The numbers in the table are
individual counts of the reasons for not achieving good status with a
confidence status of 'confirmed' and 'probable', where the latest
classification is less than good status. There may be more than one
reason in a single water body. Note, table does not include reasons for
deterioration.
Significant water management issue
Changes to the natural flow and level of water
Invasive non-native species
Physical modifications
Pollution from abandoned mines
Pollution from rural areas
Pollution from towns, cities and transport
Pollution from waste water
Agriculture and rural land management
1
0
18
0
753
1
0
Domestic general public
0
0
0
0
0
73
14
Industry
2
0
15
0
0
36
2
Local & central government
0
0
76
0
0
0
0
Mining and quarrying
0
0
1
21
0
0
0
Navigation
0
0
9
0
0
1
0
No sector responsible
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
Other
0
0
11
0
0
4
0
Recreation
0
0
6
0
0
0
0
Sector under investigation
0
0
134
0
0
0
0
Urban and transport
0
0
101
0
0
103
18
Waste treatment and disposal
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
Water Industry
4
0
53
0
0
4
314
Total
7
3
424
21
753
223
349
Objectives data for North West River Basin District
Ecological status or potential objectives for surface water bodies
Table summarises the ecological status and ecological potential
objectives set for water bodies in the river basin management
plan. Each water body is only counted once in this table. Each water
body objective consists of a target status and a date when it was, or
is expected to be, met.
Status
Bad
Poor
Moderate
Good
High
Total
By 2015
1
1
42
131
0
175
By 2021
0
0
4
28
0
32
By 2027
0
2
19
371
0
392
Total
1
3
65
530
0
599
Chemical status objectives for surface water bodies
Including those with less stringent objectives and extended deadlines
Status
Fail
Good
Total
By 2063
0
598
598
Total
0
598
598
Quantitative status objectives for groundwater
Including those with less stringent objectives and extended deadlines
Status
Poor
Good
Total
By 2015
0
14
14
By 2021
0
1
1
By 2027
0
3
3
Total
0
18
18
Chemical status objectives for groundwater
Including those with less stringent objectives and extended deadlines
Status
Poor
Good
Total
By 2015
1
6
7
By 2021
0
3
3
By 2027
0
8
8
Total
1
17
18
Protected Areas data for North West River Basin District
Drinking water protected areas current status and at risk
Water body type
Number of drinking water protected areas
Number ‘at risk’
Number at poor chemical status for drinking water protected area objectives
Surface water
117
60
Does not apply to surface waters
Groundwater
18
6
4
Shellfish water protected areas current status and objectives
Number of shellfish waters
Objective
Number currently achieving standard
Number not sampled due to lack of commercial activity
10
Endeavour to observe the Shellfish Directions standard of ≤300 E.coli/100ml shellfish flesh and intravalvular liquid
1
2
Bathing water protected areas current status and objectives
Number of bathing waters
Objective
Number which met at least the sufficient classification in 2021
Number expected to achieve at least sufficient in 2022
Number at risk of not achieving sufficient in 2022
28
At least sufficient classification
28
21
7
There are 0 unassessed bathing waters
Nutrient sensitive areas (nitrate vulnerable zones)
Reason for designation
Number of NVZs
Land area (ha) covered by NVZ type
% of river basin district covered by NVZ type
High nitrates in surface waters
22
292,144
22
Eutrophication in lakes or reservoirs
8
9,339
1
High nitrates in groundwater
12
20,320
2
Nutrient sensitive areas (Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations)
Reason for designation
Number of Sensitive areas
Length (KM)/Area (km2) designated
Eutrophication in rivers
20
532
Eutrophication in lakes or reservoirs
2
19.85
Eutrophication in canals
1
62.00
Habitats site (European site) protected areas*
Site type
Number of sites
Ramsar Site
13
Special Area of Conservation
27
Special Protection Area
12
Condition of underlying water-dependent Site of Special Scientific
Interest units**
*Ramsar sites are not protected areas under the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) Regulations 2017. However they are treated in line with Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Areas (SPA) as a matter of Government policy. Most Ramsar sites coincide with SACs and/or SPAs, but a small number are designated as Ramsar sites only. These are included in the water-dependent site condition data.
**Includes SSSI units underlying European sites and Ramsar sites where the habitat is water-dependent. The "RBMP-favourable" category in these tables includes units where any reasons for not being in "favourable condition", as far as can be ascertained, do not relate to the water-dependent features. As a result, all condition categories have the prefix "RBMP" to distinguish these from conventional SSSI condition reporting, in which pressures not relevant to river basin planning are included in determining site condition. Data retrieved 2019. Methodology changes mean this data does not form a continuous series with data reported in 2015.
Summary Statistics data for North West River Basin District
Ecological status and potential
Summary statistic
Rivers, Canals and SWTs
Lakes
Estuaries
Coastal
Surface Waters Combined
% of water bodies at good or better ecological status/potential
25%
12%
27%
20%
22%
% of biological elements, phys-chem elements and specific pollutants at good or better status
80%
76%
80%
82%
80%
% of water bodies with an objective of good ecological status/potential or better
89%
86%
91%
100%
88%
% of biological elements, phys-chem elements and Specific Pollutants with an objective of good status or better
97%
97%
100%
100%
97%
Chemical
Summary statistic
Rivers, Canals and SWTs
Lakes
Estuaries
Coastal
Surface Waters Combined
% of water bodies at good chemical status
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
% of chemical elements at good status
82%
81%
85%
85%
82%
% of water bodies at good chemical status without uPBT
88%
100%
91%
100%
91%
% of chemical elements at good status without uPBT
98%
100%
Greater than 99%
100%
99%
% of water bodies with an objective of good chemical status
100%
99%
100%
100%
Greater than 99%
% of chemical elements with an objective of good
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
% of water bodies with an objective of good chemical status without uPBT
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
% of chemical elements with an objective of good without uPBTs
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Groundwater
Summary statistic
Ground water
% of water bodies at good chemical (GW) status
44%
% of groundwater chemical elements at good status
82%
% of water bodies with an objective of good chemical (GW) status
94%
% of groundwater chemical elements with an objective of good
99%
% of water bodies at good quantitative status
72%
% of groundwater quantitative elements at good status
93%
% of water bodies with an objective of good quantitative status
100%
% of groundwater quantitative elements with an objective of good
