Dataset (draft)
Water resource zones: dataset
Which water company planning zones cover each pilot council in England.
Draft dataset
This page and its files are a preview. For a water supply problem now, contact your water company. Find your water company (Water UK).
What it is
The Environment Agency’s map of water resource zones in England, and which zones cover each pilot council. In the Environment Agency’s words, a water resource zone is “the largest area of a water company’s supply system where all customers have the same supply risk and level of service”.
By council
| Council | Water company | Zones (share of council area) |
|---|---|---|
| Cornwall | South West Water | Colliford (90%); Roadford (9%) |
| Plymouth | South West Water | Roadford (97%) |
| Torbay | South West Water | Roadford (99%) |
| Somerset | Bristol Water; Wessex Water | Wessex (72%); Bristol (27%) |
| Bristol | Bristol Water | Bristol (98%) |
| Tewkesbury | Severn Trent Water; Thames Water | SvT- Strategic Grid (92%); Forest and Stroud (7%); SWOX (1%) |
| Shropshire | Severn Trent Water | Shelton (33%); SvT- Strategic Grid (23%); Bishops Castle (12%); Whitchurch and Wem (8%); Ruyton (7%); North Staffs (7%); Kinsall (5%); Wolverhampton (3%); Mardy (2%) |
| Birmingham | Severn Trent Water; South Staffordshire Water | SvT- Strategic Grid (81%); South Staffordshire (19%) |
| Manchester | United Utilities | UU-Strategic (100%) |
| Leeds | Yorkshire Water | Grid SWZ (100%) |
| Calderdale | Yorkshire Water | Grid SWZ (100%) |
| York | Yorkshire Water | Grid SWZ (100%) |
| Hull | Yorkshire Water | Grid SWZ (99%) |
| Cumberland | Northumbrian Water; United Utilities | UU-Strategic (63%); Carlisle (30%); Kielder (3%); North Eden (3%) |
| Southwark | Thames Water | London (100%) |
| Maidstone | South East Water; Southern Water | Maidstone (6) (49%); Ashford (8) (27%); Cranbrook (7) (22%); Kent Medway East (1%) |
| Glasgow | Not covered (see limits) | |
| Highland | Not covered (see limits) | |
| Cardiff | Not covered (see limits) | |
| Conwy | Not covered (see limits) | |
Method
- We overlaid the zone polygons on ONS council boundaries (clipped to the coastline) and kept zones covering at least 1% of the council’s land.
- The map file is simplified to about 200 metres for drawing on a map.
Limits and gaps
- The Environment Agency says the dataset is for mapping only and is not suitable for property searches. Always check your own supply with your water company.
- Water supply zones, the smaller areas used for drinking water quality reporting, are not covered: we have not found an open official map of them.
- Wales and Scotland are not covered. The dataset includes the parts of Wales supplied by companies that also supply England, so it does not cover all of Wales. Scottish Water is not in it. Council pages list the water company and its incident page instead.
- Zones are planning areas. They do not show where a supply problem is happening now.
Licences and credits
- Environment Agency, Water Resource Zones (updated 18 September 2026): Open Government Licence. Contains Environment Agency information © Environment Agency and/or database rights. Some information used in this dataset is © water companies. © Crown copyright and database rights 2025 AC0000807064.
- Council boundaries: ONS Open Geography Portal, Open Government Licence. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.
Download
How to cite it
Never Caught Out (2026). Water resource zones, England (simplified), version 0.1, 1 November 2026. https://nevercaughtout.co.uk/data/water/
Please also credit the original publishers listed above, as their licences require.