Water Resources

RPA has carried out a wide range of studies related to water resources, including work on the impacts of water policies, assessment of the benefits of schemes to improve water quality and resources and the use of economic instruments in relation to water abstraction. 

Water Framework Directive

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is the most substantial piece of EC water legislation introduced to date.  It is designed to improve and integrate the way water bodies are managed throughout Europe. It came into force on 22 December 2000 and was transposed into UK law in 2003. Member States must aim to reach good chemical and ecological status in inland and coastal waters by 2015.

RPA has assisted Defra and the Environment Agency to prepare for the implementation of the WFD through a number of studies.  This has included:

• Preparation of Regulatory Impact Assessments for various aspects of the WFD as a whole (read more..) and for two daughter Directives to the WFD, concerning priority substances and groundwater (read more..). 
• Assessment of the costs and benefits of the WFD to different sectors, including the water industry and agriculture
• A major study to examine the cost-effectiveness of different measures to achieve the objectives of the WFD in the England and Wales and in Scotland

 

Assessing the Benefits of Water Quality and Water Resources Schemes

The Environment Agency is required to complete benefits assessments on the water quality and water resources schemes to be included in Water Quality draft business plans as part of the Periodic Review process.  The Environment Agency therefore commissioned RPA to develop a revised comprehensive methodology and associated guidance for assessing the environmental and social costs and benefits of water resource and water quality management schemes.