The Water Framework Directive: Why it's not small beer

BWB Consulting's Dr Lauren Tewson and Roy Lobley explain why a 15 year-old EU measure has risen to the surface of the water course agenda

Dr Lauren Tewson and Roy Lobley
22 December 2015

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Environment

You've heard of the Good Beer Guide and probably the Good Pub Guide. But how about another authoritative, fluids-based guide - one which flags up an issue which could give the authorities the same kind of headache as a few too many real ales?

This is the Good Ecological Potential guide, which has been drawn up by the Environment Agency and the Internal Drainage Boards to encourage the proper maintenance of water courses in the Fens.

"No one likes filling in forms, especially when you've already got Flood Risk Assessments, Design and Access Statements, Ecological Appraisals and Environmental Statements to cope with."

No one doubts the commitment of the EA or the IDBs to best practice - after all, that's why they've come up with this guide. It's also consistent with the aims of something even bigger: the EU's Water Framework Directive. A wide-ranging attempt to improve the environment, ecology and quality of inland and coastal waters across the EU, the WFD was originally unveiled back in 2000.

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But 2015 was the year by which its standards were supposed to have been met - so those aims are now firmly back on the agenda.

As a member of the Association of Drainage Authorities, BWB Consulting advises developers, planning authorities and public bodies who manage flood risk. What has become apparent from that work is that the wider implications of the WFD are not well understood when permissions are being granted.

And this could be a problem further down the line. While these public bodies no doubt ensure that their own activities meet these standards, they are also liable if a development they gave permission for subsequently has an adverse impact on those measures covered by the WFD. That adverse impact may not be defined as a drop in quality either - it could also mean that the water or its surrounding environment doesn't achieve what is judged to be its full potential.

"2015 was the year by which its standards were supposed to have been met - so those aims are now firmly back on the agenda."

If this all sounds complicated, then that's because it is. However, there is a potential solution: adopting a procedure during development which demonstrates that all reasonable steps have been taken to comply with the WFD - a WFD Compliance Assessment, if you like.

No one likes filling in forms, especially when you've already got Flood Risk Assessments, Design and Access Statements, Ecological Appraisals and Environmental Statements to cope with. But those forms could themselves generate the information you need to demonstrate that your activity is WFD compliant. And if you fail to comply? You'll need a lot more than a good beer...

Former Environment Agency officer Dr Lauren Tewson is an Environmental Consultant at BWB who specialises in Water Framework Directive compliance; Engineer Roy Lobley is an Associate at BWB who has more than 30 years' experience in land drainage, flood risk and flood defence work.