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Foundation for Water Research © 2006 issue 1, 2006
. . . from the Water Framework Directive Information Centrewww.euwfd.com
some water Bodies have been constructed (awB – artificial water Body) or have been physically modified (HmwB – Heavily modified
water Body) to support navigation, flood defence, hydropower and other valuable uses.WelCOMe tO tHe First
NeWsletter OF 2006.
We are continuing with the new format, focusing on key aspects of the WFD. In this issue the themes are Heavily Modified Water Bodies (HMWB) and Artificial Water Bodies (AWB).
We are very fortunate to have the key article written by Grahame Newman, the Water Framework Directive Programme Manager for British Waterways, which is a major stakeholder in the implementation of the Directive.
In addition, on pages 2 and 3 are references to key documents, updates on projects and latest events and news, all relevant to the selected theme.
On page 4 Neil Tytler, WFDIC Manager, reports on meetings, presentations and other activities undertaken by the Information Centre during the last quarter.
For other relevant information about the WFD from the regulators, water industry, NGOs and others please visit ‘Latest News’ on our website,
(http://www.euwfd.com).
If you would like further information on what we do and how we might help you or your organisation then please contact us (see page 4 for details).
the editor
tHis issUe
WFD - HMWB/aWB:
● inland waterways page 1
● Key resources page 2
● News page 3
● Projects page 3
WFDiC News page 4
just some of the features in this issue – and more . . . ❏
Article 5 of the WFD has required a review of the impact of human activity on the status of surface water bodies. A high percentage of surface water bodies have been provisionally identified as HMWB. In addition, the reports on risk analysis of the Member States have shown
that hydromorphological changes are the most important pressures, resulting in a high percentage of surface water bodies likely to fail the good ecological status.
The WFD allows for the continuation of specified uses, while at the same time allowing mitigation measures to improve ecological conditions.
implications of the WFD forthe use and management ofinland waterwaystHere are aBOUt 5000km OF iNlaND WaterWays iN BritaiN (see map). By waterways we mean canals, rivers or lakes that are, or have been, navigable to powered craft. An integral part of the network are the water resources used to supply water to canals – British Waterways owns 89 reservoirs, 6 boreholes, and many pumps and feeder channels transferring surface water into its canals.
These waterways are managed by a variety of organisations that are collectively known as navigation authorities. The biggest of these is British Waterways (BW), a public corporation responsible for a total of 3200km of waterways in England, Wales and Scotland.
Waterways were constructed originally to move goods, but nowadays their chief use is for leisure and tourism. BW have es-timated that people spend about £1.5 billion each year on boating and other leisure activities on its waterways. Goods are still moved on some of the larger waterways. This mode of transport has many environmental benefits and the government is encouraging it by offering grants for new wharfage and other infrastructure.
Waterways also have an important role to play in urban regeneration. Brindley Place in Birmingham is an example of how BW has worked with the local authority to improve the local waterway and use it as a focus for wider regeneration of the area(see photograph, page 2).
In addition, canals play an important role in providing a raw water supply for industrial use and for public water supply. BW have over 400 contracts to supply water to third parties.
Grahame Newman, Programme Manager, Water Framework Directive, for British Waterways.
Email: [email protected]
Happy New year from the WFD
information Centre
artiFiCial & Heavily MODiFieD
Water BODies
by Grahame Newman
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Waterways are widely recognised for their environmental and heritage value and their accessibility for people. BW are the third largest owner of listed buildings in the UK and own 60 SSSIs.
How the WFD might affect inland navigation authorities
BritisH WaterWays, like all inland navigation authorities, is dependent on water resources of sufficient quantity and quality
to maintain water levels and to provide a quality environment for its boaters and other customers. BW therefore supports the aims of the Directive and is pleased that controls will be broadened to include diffuse pollution. However, BW is concerned about the impact on its operating costs and on its ability to develop and expand the network.
Those of BW’s activities that will be most affected are channel maintenance (mostly dredging and bank protection), water supply to canals and restoration of disused waterways (see photo). Even the use of the waterway by boats could be affected, since the amount of boat traffic on a canal is often the most significant factor determining the ecological quality of the water body, especially in narrow canals.
Government policy is that water-ways should be developed for wider public benefit where this can be shown to be sustainable
artificial characteristics (weirs, bank protection, etc) required for navigation are likely, in many cases, to prevent the achievement of Good Ecological Status. The default ecological objective will therefore be Good Ecological Potential. This is a ‘slightly’ lower quality than Maximum Ecological Potential, which requires all feasible mitigation to be put into place. BW already do quite a bit of mitigation – for example it often uses reeds and coir rolls to protect banks from erosion rather than steel piles – but will this be enough? UKTAG have a R&D project underway to develop an ecological classification scheme for canals (WFD61) and once this has finished the authorities may have a better idea.
The waterways and navigation sector has been actively engaged in the implementation of the Directive because it will have a major impact on its activities. A working group has been set up by the sector to share experiences and to provide a single voice to government and the competent authorities.
(‘Waterways for Tomorrow’, DETR, 2000). This means balancing environmental objectives with social and economic benefits and the Directive is flexible enough to allow this, through the use of exemptions. BW and other navigation authorities will need to be engaged with the process of river basin planning to ensure these wider social benefits are considered.
Most of BW’s network is likely to be designated as artificial (AWB) or heavily modified (HMWB). This is because the modifications or
Brindley Place, Birmingham, where the canals have been a focus for urban regeneration.Courtesy of British Waterways.
Restoring a disused waterway. Courtesy of British Waterways.
. . . continued from front page.
WFD - HMWB/aWBKey resOUrCes
MaNaGiNG Water
resOUrCes, NOW aND iN tHe FUtUre
aiNaDelivers GUiDaNCe tO
NaviGatiON aUtHOrities
the association of inland Navigation authorities (aiNa)
was set up in December 1996 with strong encouragement from Government to provide, for the first time ever, a single voice on waterway management issues.
The broad purpose of AINA is to facilitate the management, maintenance and development of the inland waterways for navigation as an economic, environmental, recreational and social resources.
The changing legislative and regulatory regime in the UK places a greater onus of responsibility on navigation authorities to quantify and justify their demands for water.
This guidance note is designed to help navigation authorities ensure that adequate water supplies are made available to meet the current and future needs of their waterways. The use of the methods outlined in this guidance note will help all navigation authorities, particularly the smaller ones with limited resources, determine the reliability of their water resources and demonstrate their needs for water.
(http://www.aina.org.uk/LNWRG.asp)
Proceedings of two recent imPortant international conferences concerning HmwB/awB are now availaBle for download:
Water FraMeWOrK DireCtiveaND HyDrOMOrPHOlOGy- Workshop held in prague, 17-19 october 2005Organised to set the agenda for the further process of addressing hydromophological pressures in the context of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. The workshop served as a platform for facilitating exchange on both technical issues, such as hydromorphological risk assessment, heavily modified water bodies and mitigation measures, as well as policy integration issues with particular focus on navigation, hydropower and flood defence.the workshop summary report is available fordownload from the ecologic website:(http://www.ecologic-events.de/hydromorphology/documents/967_summary.pdf)
a Joint ciwem & rsPB conference
tHe WFD & HyDrO-MOrPHOlOGy9 november, 2005, london
Themes covered included flood risk management, land-use and coastal management, the economics of WFD hydro-morphology and application of derogations including HMWB.the individual presentations are available from the CMs website: (http://www.coastms.co.uk/)
COMMON iMPleMeNtatiON strateGy FOr tHe Water FraMeWOrK DireCtive (2000/60/eC)guidance document no. 4identification and Designation of Heavily Modifiedand artificial Water BodiesThis key document was underpinned by research projects and case studies.available to be downloaded from the Cis website:(http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/env/wfd/library?l=/framework_directive/guidance_documents&vm=detailed&sb=Title).
BOOK:E. Kampa and W. Hansen, Heavily Modified Water Bodies – synthesis of 34 Case studies in europe (Springer: Berlin, 2004)ISBN: 3-540-21085-7.It presents and synthesises the results of 34 European case studies on the identification and designation of heavily modified water bodies. Carried out in the context of the CIS of the WFD.
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HMWB/aWB PrOjeCts
MaNDate FOr aN aCtivity ON ‘Water FraMeWOrK DireCtive aND HyDrOMOrPHOlOGiCal PressUres’.First phase:resulting From hydropoWer, navigation and Flood deFence activities.
Phase i: 2006The main hydromorphological driving forces identified in risk analysis are hydropower, flood protection, navigation and agriculture. Other activities such as urbanisation, gravel and water abstractions (e.g. for irrigation), outdoor recreation activities and fisheries are also of some importance. Hydromorphological alterations are often undertaken for more than one reason, e.g. a multi-purpose dam for hydropower generation, flood protection and water abstraction or river channelisation for navigation and flood protection.
Therefore the Water Directors agreed at their meeting in Luxembourg in June 2005 to start a new activity referring to hydromorphological alterations as one of the most important pressures on surface water bodies, resulting in a high percentage of surface water bodies likely to fail the good ecological status.
the document is included as annex 8 in the summary of the Workshop in Prague (see page 2):
(http://www.ecologic-events.de/hydromorphology/documents/967_summary.pdf)
sNiFFer Project WFD39:
HMWB iN sCOtlaND – iDeNtiFiCatiON, DesiGNatiON aND eNvirONMeNtal OBjeCtivesThis project (or series of projects) will build on the previous work undertaken, testing the guidance under realistic conditions in the Scottish context and informing policy related to such designation work for the future.
sNiFFer Project WFD61:
CaNal ClassiFiCatiON tOOlThe main aim of the project is to produce a tool that will enable the environment agencies in the UK to classify canals in accordance with the requirements of the WFD and which will support operational and surveillance monitoring.
More details on both Projects can be found on the sNiFFer website:(http://www.sniffer.org.uk/active_further_info.asp?&location=research_areas)
latest on the WFDCONsUltatiON ON riverBasiN PlaNNiNG GUiDaNCeDefra and the Welsh Assembly Government propose to issue guidance to the Environment Agency on river basin planning, setting out their expectations and principles for the river basin planning process. This draft guidance is written for a regulatory audience, rather than for members of the public.
This Guidance will be complemented by the Agency’s ‘Framework for River Basin Planning’ to be published shortly.Consultation responses should be returned by 7 March 2006.
a copy of the document can be downloaded from Defra’s website:(http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/wfd/index.htm).
the river Basin Planning strategy for the scotland river Basin District is available at sePa’s website:(http://www.sepa.org.uk/wfd/rbmp)
Wise Newsletterissue No 2 – Dec 2005 (former ‘WFD Newsletter‘)
Latest information bulletin of the Water & Marine unit of the DG Environment of the European Commission.
(http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/water)
the 1st international Ports and the environment ConferenceantWerp, 22-23 February 2006
Environmental issues are coming to the centre of the port develop-ment debate. It is no longer financial and engineering concerns that drive port development. Rather, it is achieving consent to development that is critical. Time delays and increased costs have become a major brake on trade growth.
GreenPort 2006 is a forum for the discussion of these issues – it is the first meeting of port developers and specialists and will chart a way forward for the responsible and environmentally-literate development of new port capacity.
(http://www.green-port.net/)
the international Conference and exhibition on small Hydropower and its role in the Future of renewable energy:7-9 June 2006, crieFF, scotland, uk
Hidroenergia, the major European Conference on small hydropowers, is organised by European Small Hydropower Association (ESHA) and British Hydropower Association (BHA) and will cover environmental factors including the significance of the WFD for the hydropower industry.
(http://www.esha.be/)
Foundation for Water researchAllen House, The Listons, Liston Road,Marlow, Bucks SL7 1FD. t : +44 (0) 1628 891589 F : +44 (0) 1628 472711 e : [email protected] W : www.fwr.org
Produced by the Foundation for Water research © FWr 2006
It is FWR’s policy to improve our services in every way and so whilst details set out in this publication were correct at the time of publishing, we are
unable to guarantee that changes have not subsequently taken place. We therefore reserve the right to alter content at any time without notice.
This publication may not be copied for distribution or used for any commercial reason without prior permission from FWR.
Publication No : FWR-WFDNEWS05-0Design Agency - http://www.connellmarketing.com
News from the Information Centre
the work of the information Centre
continues . . .
. . . vigorously with new Information Notes now on the website entitled Sources of Pollution covering the two descriptions of pollution, point source and diffuse (non-point) pollution. (see below, ‘New on www.euwfd.com:).
The Latest News together with the Conferences & Events sections of the web-site continue to be updated frequently with hard copies being mailed out every two months.
Presentations have been given to the Welsh Assembly Government, to two CIWEM branch meetings that focused on the WFD and we were invited by DFID to give a presentation on the background and implementation of the WFD to a study tour of water officials from South Africa.
As part of the continuing strategy to inform people about the Information Centre and its work in raising public awareness about the Directive, the Cen-tre has been the major theme of our stands at the following events: IWA Con-ference, Calgary; WaPUG Conference, Blackpool; EU Environmental Research Conference, Brussels; EWA Conference, Brussels, Commonwealth Peoples Forum, Malta, and the Environment Agency Annual Conference in London. We are in the process of planning next year’s exhibitions, where we will focus on events that are attended by large numbers of the public.
Neil Tytler demonstrates the work of the WFDIC to Swedish delegates at the EU Environmental Research Conference in Brussels.
In addition, the Centre con-tinues to provide help and advice on WFD and related environmental matters to a large number of enquirers who have contacted us both by email and telephone.
Neil tytler,Manager WFDIC
Tom Le Quesne, Freshwater Policy Officer, WWF-UK, gave a presentation to the FWR Environmental Economics Forum in November, which concentrated on WFD issues.
Above – delegates discussing WFD economics issues over lunch.Right – Tom (left) with Simon McCarthy of Middlesex University.
neW on(www.euwfd.com)
Information Notes on Sources of Pollution have been posted on the website. They include an Overview (FWR WFD Note 16-0), Diffuse Pollution (Note 16-1), Useful Links giving links to websites relevant to sources of pollution (Note 16-2) and Reference Library of selected relevant publications (Note 16-3). As with all the other Notes on our website, these are available directly on the page in HTML format and in pdf file format, better suited for printing.
Commonwealth People’s Forum, Malta, November 2005: the Commonwealth People’s Forum and exhibition centred very much on the need for improved networking among the Commonwealth countries.
The debate in this forum and other events, including the Common-wealth Human Ecology Council (CHEC) forum, centred on global issues (climate change and
top:The Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Don McKinnon with Caryll Stephen, Chief Executive of FWR;
right: Malta Girl Guides.
Below:Delegates from Africa visiting the FWR exhibition stand.
water being quite a substantial part of the agenda) and formed the basis of a Communiqué sent into the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The FWR stand featured the Water Framework Directive Information Centre and generated considerable interest at the exhibition.
The official opening of CHOGM was a spectacular occasion with messages for unity and networking being delivered by HM Queen Elizabeth II and the Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon.
