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Clean and plentiful water

The summary Figure shows the proportion of indicator components for which ‘Clean and plentiful water’ is the primary goal that have been assigned to each assessment category, with the exact number of indicator components shown as a label on the bars.

There are 7 indicators comprising 28 components in total with this primary goal. Of the 10 indicator components recorded under B1 (Pollution loads entering waters), 7 have not been assessed as further development is required to present statistical trends for the selected contaminants. The 11 indicator components recorded under B3 (State of the water environment) were not assessed as results are not presented as a time series. The 2 indicator components recorded under B5 (Water bodies achieving sustainable abstraction criteria) could not be assessed as the time series was not yet sufficient and indicator B6 (Natural functions of water and wetland ecosystems) does not currently present information as the time series needed for applying the standard Outcome Indicator Framework assessment method.

Of the remaining 7 indicator components, the 3 components of B1 that could be assessed showed a long-term improvement, but do not have a suitable reporting frequency to allow an assessment over the short and medium term. B2 showed little or no change over the short term but showed improvements over the medium and long-term periods, and B4 also showed little or no change over the short term but had insufficient data to allow a medium or long-term assessment. Of the final 2 indicator components with this goal, B7a showed a short-term improvement but was assessed as deteriorating over the medium and long term, and D7b also showed a short-term improvement but had insufficient data for a medium or long-term assessment. Note that the short-term assessment of ‘improvement’ for B7b (Classification of fish in English rivers) does not include more recent years where a new method was adopted; these new data will be assessed once a sufficient time series has been built up.

Summary of assessment results - Clean and plentiful water

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Assessment results - Clean and plentiful water

Indicator component assessed Short term Medium term Long term
B1a Riverine inputs of selected metals into English tidal waters (cadmium) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B1a Riverine inputs of selected metals into English tidal waters (copper) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B1a Riverine inputs of selected metals into English tidal waters (lead) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B1a Riverine inputs of selected metals into English tidal waters (mercury) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B1a Riverine inputs of selected metals into English tidal waters (zinc) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B1b Riverine inputs of selected nutrients into English tidal waters (nitrogen) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B1b Riverine inputs of selected nutrients into English tidal waters (ortho-Phosphate) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B1c Loads discharged to rivers from water company sewage treatment works in England (BOD) Not assessed Not assessed Improvement
B1c Loads discharged to rivers from water company sewage treatment works in England (ammonia) Not assessed Not assessed Improvement
B1c Loads discharged to rivers from water company sewage treatment works in England (phosphorus) Not assessed Not assessed Improvement
B2 Serious pollution incidents to water (category 1 and 2) Little or no change Improvement Improvement
B3a Biology of coastal waters, saltmarsh (at least good) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B3a Biology of esturaries, saltmarsh (at least good) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B3a Biology of lakes, phytoplankton (at least good) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B3a Biology of rivers, invertebrates (at least good) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B3a Biology of rivers, plants and algae (at least good) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B3a Ecological status of surface waters (at least good) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B3b Status of ground waters - water quality (at least good) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B3b Status of ground waters - water quantity (at least good) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B3c Condition of SSSI units underpinning European protected water and wetland sites (favourable or unfavourable recovering) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B3c Status of drinking waters - ground waters (not at risk) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B3c Status of drinking waters - surface waters (not at risk) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B4 Condition of bathing waters in England (at least sufficient) Little or no change Not assessed Not assessed
B5 Water bodies achieving sustainable abstraction criteria (ground waters) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B5 Water bodies achieving sustainable abstraction criteria (surface waters) Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B6 Natural functions of water and wetland ecosystems Not assessed Not assessed Not assessed
B7a Salmon stock status - principal salmon rivers at risk in England (not at risk or probably not at risk) Improvement Deterioration Deterioration
B7b Classification of fish in English rivers (cycle 1 - high or good) Improvement Not assessed Not assessed
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Potential links - Clean and plentiful water

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Potential links - Clean and plentiful water

Primary goal From Indicator To Indicator Correlation Rationale
Clean and plentiful water B1 Pollution loads entering waters B3 State of the water environment Negative Substances more often found in rivers at levels exceeding their environmental quality standard in water include metals such as cadmium, lead, nickel and zinc.
Clean and plentiful water B1 Pollution loads entering waters B4 Condition of bathing waters Negative B1 tracks changes in the inputs and discharges of selected contaminants such as nutrients and some toxic chemicals to rivers or directly to the sea, for example through sewage pipelines.
Clean and plentiful water B1 Pollution loads entering waters B7 Health of freshwaters assessed through fish stocks Negative Water quality issues were the cause of 38% of all fish test failures.
Clean and plentiful water B1 Pollution loads entering waters D1 Quantity, quality and connectivity of habitats Negative B1 records the discharge/emission of contaminants that adversely affect the quality and uses of receiving waters. These affect the wildlife and ecology of rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.
Clean and plentiful water B1 Pollution loads entering waters D4 Relative abundance and distribution of widespread species Negative B1 records the discharge/emission of contaminants that adversely affect the quality and uses of receiving waters. These affect the wildlife and ecology of rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.
Clean and plentiful water B1 Pollution loads entering waters D5 Conservation status of our native species Negative B1 records the discharge/emission of contaminants that adversely affect the quality and uses of receiving waters. These affect the wildlife and ecology of rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.
Clean and plentiful water B1 Pollution loads entering waters D6 Abundance and distribution of priority species in England Negative B1 records the discharge/emission of contaminants that adversely affect the quality and uses of receiving waters. These affect the wildlife and ecology of rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.
Clean and plentiful water B1 Pollution loads entering waters H4 Exposure and adverse effects of chemicals on wildlife in the environment Positive B1 includes emissions of mercury, H4 monitors exposure to mercury.
Clean and plentiful water B2 Serious pollution incidents to water B3 State of the water environment Negative B2 shows changes in the number of pollution incidents impacting on water health, including in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, canals, coasts, estuaries and groundwater.
Clean and plentiful water B2 Serious pollution incidents to water B4 Condition of bathing waters Negative The 2 higher categories of serious pollution event cause, for example, potential harm to bathers.
Clean and plentiful water B2 Serious pollution incidents to water B5 Water bodies achieving sustainable abstraction criteria Negative The 2 higher categories of serious pollution event cause, for example, the temporary cessation of abstraction from a river by a drinking water provider.
Clean and plentiful water B2 Serious pollution incidents to water B7 Health of freshwaters assessed through fish stocks Negative The 2 higher categories of serious pollution event cause, for example, death of fish.
Clean and plentiful water B2 Serious pollution incidents to water D4 Relative abundance and distribution of widespread species Negative The 2 higher categories of serious pollution event cause, for example, death of fish.
Clean and plentiful water B2 Serious pollution incidents to water D5 Conservation status of our native species Negative The 2 higher categories of serious pollution event cause, for example, death of fish.
Clean and plentiful water B2 Serious pollution incidents to water D6 Abundance and distribution of priority species in England Negative The 2 higher categories of serious pollution event cause, for example, death of fish.
Clean and plentiful water B2 Serious pollution incidents to water G7 Health and wellbeing benefits Negative The 2 higher categories of serious pollution event cause, for example, potential harm to bathers.
Clean and plentiful water B2 Serious pollution incidents to water H4 Exposure and adverse effects of chemicals on wildlife in the environment Positive Pollution incidents could involve the release of pollutants monitored through H4 for example, mercury.
Clean and plentiful water B3 State of the water environment D5 Conservation status of our native species Positive B3 status assessments are based on indicators for specific species groups for example, plants and algae, invertebrates.
Clean and plentiful water B3 State of the water environment D6 Abundance and distribution of priority species in England Positive B3 status assessments are based on indicators for specific species groups for example, plants and algae, invertebrates.
Clean and plentiful water B4 Condition of bathing waters G7 Health and wellbeing benefits Positive Status of bathing waters is based on a set of microbiological tests (measuring E.coli and intestinal enterococci) performed on waters used for bathing. The bacteria, if present, can cause severe stomach upsets and gastro-intestinal illness.
Clean and plentiful water B5 Water bodies achieving sustainable abstraction criteria B3 State of the water environment Positive Drinking water protected area status feeds into the B3 results.
Clean and plentiful water B5 Water bodies achieving sustainable abstraction criteria B6 Natural functions of water and wetland ecosystems Positive River flows and groundwater levels are considered sustainable when they support ecology that is only slightly impacted by human activity.
Clean and plentiful water B6 Natural functions of water and wetland ecosystems D1 Quantity, quality and connectivity of habitats Positive Indicator B6 is closely linked with indicator D1 on the extent, quality and connectivity of habitats as the naturalness of ecosystem function is also being considered within D1.
Clean and plentiful water B6 Natural functions of water and wetland ecosystems F1 Disruption or unwanted impacts from flooding or coastal erosion Negative Restoring natural functions to wetland ecosystems contributes to enhancing ecosystem services such as the provision of clean water and flood regulation.
Clean and plentiful water A6 Exceedance of damaging levels of nutrient nitrogen deposition on ecosystems B3 State of the water environment Negative Nutrients are a major cause of water bodies being at less than good ecological status and also affect drinking water quality. Nitrates account for 65% of the reasons for failure for those groundwaters that are protected for use for drinking water and are classed at poor status. Nitrate enters groundwater from diffuse pollution on land. (mainly water run-off from agricultural land) or is deposited onto land from the air.
Clean and plentiful water C4 Diverse seas: condition of seafloor habitats B3 State of the water environment Positive B3a assesses coastal waters and estuaries based on a saltmarsh indicator, C4c assesses the status of saltmarsh habitats.
Clean and plentiful water D5 Conservation status of our native species B3 State of the water environment Positive B3 status assessments are based on indicators for specific species groups for example, plants and algae, invertebrates.
Clean and plentiful water D6 Abundance and distribution of priority species in England B3 State of the water environment Positive B3 status assessments are based on indicators for specific species groups for example, plants and algae, invertebrates.
Clean and plentiful water E3 Volume of inputs used in agricultural production B1 Pollution loads entering waters Positive B1 tracks changes in the inputs and discharges of selected contaminants such as nutrients and some toxic chemicals to rivers or directly to the sea, for example through activities such as agriculture inputting substances directly.
Clean and plentiful water E3 Volume of inputs used in agricultural production B2 Serious pollution incidents to water Positive Agriculture is now the largest sector responsible for significant pollution events to water.
Clean and plentiful water E3 Volume of inputs used in agricultural production B3 State of the water environment Negative Agriculture and rural land management is one of the main activities that prevent water bodies reaching good status.
Clean and plentiful water E3 Volume of inputs used in agricultural production B6 Natural functions of water and wetland ecosystems Negative Nutrient run off affects the natural functions of wetland ecosystems, for example, through eutrophication.
Clean and plentiful water E8 Sustainable use of water B5 Water bodies achieving sustainable abstraction criteria Positive Reducing water consumption and leakage will help in achieving sustainable extraction.
Clean and plentiful water H3 Emissions of mercury and persistent organic pollutants to the environment B1 Pollution loads entering waters Positive B1 includes levels of mercury.
Clean and plentiful water J6 Waste crime B1 Pollution loads entering waters Positive If not handled properly, waste can cause serious pollution of the environment – air, land and water.
Clean and plentiful water J6 Waste crime B2 Serious pollution incidents to water Positive If not handled properly, waste can cause serious pollution of the environment – air, land and water.
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