The river drinking water protected areas (DWPA) are represented by the full extent of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) river waterbodies from which there is a known qualifying abstraction of water for human consumption as defined under Article 7 of the WFD.

This dataset represents a snapshot of river waterbodies with qualifying abstractions taken at the end of 2018 for the purpose of the WFD RBMP Cycle 3. Abstraction data were from the EPA register of abstractions and from consultation with relevant organisations.