DATA DOCUMENTATION - Gridded actual groundwater, surface water and tidal water abstraction, discharge and Hands-off Flow datasets for England (1999 to 2014)

This document describes a newly available 1 km × 1 km resolution abstraction and discharge dataset for England. Across England, water abstractions from ground, surface and tidal sources are regulated through a system of licences to protect both the sources and the environment. Similarly, permits are required for discharging wastewater to the water source or landscape. Anthropogenic abstractions and discharges can have a significant impact on flows and freshwater ecosystems, and until now spatiotemporal data on these influences have been unavailable for research without a licence. Recorded or ‘actual’ abstraction and discharge values (as opposed to licenced values) are extremely valuable and provide a means of understanding how anthropogenic influences on water resources vary in time and space in response to changes in local conditions. 1 km × 1 km resolution monthly recorded abstractions from 1999 to 2014 for England are provided, based on Environment Agency (EA) licence information. Summary annual discharge data for England are also provided on a 1 km × 1 km resolution and were derived from information contained in the Water Resources Geographic Information System (WRGIS 2017 version). These data, originally provided by the EA for UK hydrological research projects (MaRIUS and CS-NOW) are now available to support future climate, environmental and regulatory assessments across England, and potentially worldwide. The gridded actual abstraction, discharge and Hands-off Flow datasets for England are available on CEDA: https://dx.doi.org/10.5285/18886f95ba84447f997efac96df456ad