Determining significant damage to groundwater-dependent terrestrial ecosystems in England and Wales for use in implementation of the Water Framework Directive

This paper outlines the procedure developed in the United Kingdom to determine whether a wetland is groundwater-dependent and damaged or at risk of damage as a result of groundwater quality or quantity pressures. First, we determined which sites were thought to be critically dependent on groundwater; we then worked to quantify the risk of damage. Results were verified by local ecologists and hydrogeologists who advised on the cause(s) of damage to each site, and the level of risk and confidence in that judgement. Second, we classified each groundwater body at good or poor status, using site condition assessments of sites protected for nature conservation to identify actual ecological damage, and a seven-step process to assess whether the environmental supporting conditions for each site were met, and if not, whether the departure was due to poor groundwater quality or inadequate quantity. The Environment Agency for England and Wales is also promoting wetlands as cost-effective measures to a number of catchment pressures, particularly the reduction of sedimentation and eutrophication, as part of the ecosystem services approach adopted by the United Kingdom Government.