Source Protection Zones [Merged] have been created as public facing outlines where common boundaries and overlaps (based on zone number) have been removed. Source Protection Zones (SPZs) are defined around large and public potable groundwater abstraction sites. The purpose of SPZs is to provide additional protection to safeguard drinking water quality through constraining the proximity of an activity that may impact upon a drinking water abstraction. This is part of an initial screening process in assessing impacts to groundwater resources. Zones around location sites are defined by groundwater travel time to an abstraction. This is determined through applying Environment Agency groundwater flow models run at the location of abstractions, inputting parameters such as flow direction, geology type, rainfall and hydrological boundaries. SPZs provide a visual representation of the increased risks as you get closer to the abstraction.
The following subdivisions are defined within SPZs:
Zone 1: (Inner Protection Zone) - This zone is defined by a travel time of 50-days or less from any point within the zone at, or below, the water table. Additionally, the zone has as a minimum a 50-metre radius. It is based principally on biological decay criteria and is designed to protect against the transmission of toxic chemicals and water-borne disease.
Zone 2: (Outer Protection Zone) - This zone is defined by the 400-day travel time from a point below the water table. Additionally this zone has a minimum radius of 250 or 500 metres, depending on the size of the abstraction. The travel time is derived from consideration of the minimum time required to provide delay, dilution and attenuation of slowly degrading pollutants.
Zone 3: (Total catchment) - This zone is defined as the total area needed to support the abstraction or discharge from the protected groundwater source.
We’ve extended some zones to include areas where there is protective geology cover, such as clay. This is because activities below the surface, such as deep drilling, could create pathways for pollutants to enter the groundwater. The SPZ maps show them as zones 1c, 2c and 3c.
A further Zone 4, or ‘Zone of Special Interest’ is occasionally defined for some groundwater sources. These zones highlight areas (mainly on non-aquifers) where known local conditions mean that potentially polluting activities could impact on a groundwater source, even though the area is outside the normal catchment of that source. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2016. All rights reserved.