The Waveney Planning Group is based on the Environment Agency Waveney catchment, one of four operational catchments in the Broadland management catchment. The main settlements in the area are Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth, Beccles, Bungay and Diss. Land-use outside of the urban areas is dominated by arable farming and woodland, giving way to marsh grazing in the Broads. Links to the Environment Agency Broadland Abstraction Licence Strategy (ALS) and the Waveney Catchment Data Explorer page are here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a821229ed915d74e3401912/ALS_2017_Broadland.pdf
https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/OperationalCatchment/3518
Most of the Waveney catchment is underlain by Crag, with Chalk in upper parts of the catchment to the west of the river. Across most areas the solid geology is covered by deposits of Till, while in areas close to the river it is mainly covered with deposits of Glacial Sands and Gravels, River Terrace Deposits or Alluvium. Members in this Planning Group mainly abstract surface water from rivers and streams or groundwater from the Crag and the Chalk.
The Waveney catchment contains Broads and Marshes and other Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which are designated Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs). These are currently being investigated, with licence reductions to meet Habitats Directive requirements due to be implemented in October 2028. A link to the Environment Agency Broads Plan is here:
https://engageenvironmentagency.uk.engagementhq.com/the-broads-sustainable-abstraction-plan
All remaining abstractions in the Waveney catchment will be reviewed as part of the Environment Agency Catchment Permit Review process expected to be completed between 2028 & 2035.
From the National Framework for Water Resources (2025), some waterbodies in the Waveney catchment are at risk of licence reductions under current conditions. Over the period to 2050 and 2080 this risk increases, with reductions possible in most Waveney waterbodies.
National Framework for Water Resources 2025: Risk of licence reductions by waterbody for the Waveney Planning Group (see also NF2025 Licence Reductions.docx)
A link to the National Framework for Water Resources 2025 data is here:
https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/4347271e-4867-4c5a-a2ae-d4830b3eeb03
