Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 407 of 2017).

These Regulations make provision for the purpose of implementing in river basin districts within England and Wales Community legislation in the field of water-related environment and more generally water management-related issues. They, among other things: requires the identification of river basin districts, and a number of other assessments to be carried out by the Environment Agency ( the EA ) and Natural Resources Wales ( NRW ) to characterise and classify the status of water bodies in those districts, and assess the economic aspects of water use; require identification of bodies of water from which drinking water is abstracted, and specifies specific measures that must be included in a programme of measures to protect the quality of the water; require a number of types of areas which are protected by other EU legislation (for example, protected habitats and birds sites), as well as other specified areas, to be included on registers of protected areas; provide for the establishment of environmental objectives for each water body, and programmes of measures to meet those objectives; provide the content and application of programmes of measures; deal with river basin management plans ( RBMPs ) which must be established for each river basin district.