ARCHIVE: Key Facts about: Inland Water Quality and Use

Biological river water quality: 1990-2008

United Kingdom

Biological river water quality

Percentage of rivers of good quality
  1990 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Scotland   86.7 86.2 87.5 86.8 87.3 87.6    
Wales 78.5 78.3 78.5 79.3 79.4 80.0 82.0 86.9 88.00
England 55.4 69.0 69.8 70.5 71.0 71.4 72.1 72.3 72.0
Northern Ireland 76.1 61.5 57.3 56.6 51.1 55.7 53.8    

This is a UK Government sustainable development strategy indicator

Biological grading is based on the monitoring of small animals (invertebrates) which live in, or on the bed of, rivers and canals.

Between 1990 and 2008 the percentage of rivers of good biological quality in England rose from 55 to 72 per cent. In 2008, 88 per cent of rivers in Wales were of good biological quality.

In Scotland, 88 per cent of rivers were of good quality in 2006 based on a combined chemical, biological and aesthetic assessment, compared to 87 per cent in 2000.

Notes:
[1] Scotland network changed from 2000
[2] Northern Ireland network expanded significantly in 2002.
[3] From 2007, Northern Ireland and Scotland were unable to classify water quality using General Quality Assessments (or equivalent schemes) therefore further updates are not available.  Water quality is to be classified under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) from 2007 onwards, therefore both countries have reassigned their resource to focus on WFD classification, to gather relevant data
In Detail:
Biological river quality surveys
River Water Quality Database providing data on chemical and biological river water quality and nutrient concentrations for each Government Office Region and Local Authority in England and Wales.
Further Information:
Key Facts:
Chemical river water quality
Nitrate concentrations in rivers
Phosphate concentrations in rivers
Water pollution incidents
Drinking water quality
Sustainable Development Indicators:
Protecting our natural resources and enhancing the environment: River water quality
Data Tables:

Download Chart Data: Microsoft Excel

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Page last modified: 30 November 2009
Page published: 28 August 2007