The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017 (WFD Regulations 2017) requires specification of protected areas for those areas designated as nutrient sensitive areas.
The Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations (UWWTR) Sensitive Areas Eutrophic layer is a replacement layer of the Welsh only sites previously designated under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. it shows the extent of Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulation (UWWTR) sensitive areas (eutrophic).
The UWWTR describes eutrophication as 'the enrichment of water by nutrients, especially compounds of nitrogen and/or phosphorous, causing an accelerated growth of algae and higher forms of plant life to produce an undesirable disturbance to the balance of organisms present in the water and to the quality of the water concerned'. The UWWTR regulates the collection and treatment of waste water from homes and from industry. In the UK, the Directive is implemented through the Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulations 1994. Under these Regulations, water bodies that are (or may soon become) eutrophic should be designated as sensitive areas by Defra. This applies to still fresh waters, rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.