Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the South Hampshire, UK metro area from 1950 to 2025.

This dataset is intended for researchers, students, and policy makers for reference and mapping purposes, and may be used for basic applications such as viewing, querying, and map output production, or to provide a basemap to support graphical overlays and analysis with other spatial data.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

These digital boundaries were created by the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and form part of the Great Britain Historical Database, which contains a wide range of geographically-located statistics, selected to trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain, generally at sub-county scales.

They represent the boundaries of Registration Counties in England and Wales as in use at the date of each Census of Population between 1851 and 1911, 1911 being the last census to report extensively on these units.

These digital boundaries can be used to map economic, social and demograohic statistics from the Censuses of Population, 1851 to 1911, the Registrar-General's reports from the same period, and other relevant statistical sources. They can also be used as reference maps for these administrative units, which often differ substantially from both Ancient Counties and 20th century Administrative Counties.

The boundary data contain the same numerical identifiers as are included in the GBHDB transcriptions of census and vital registration statistics for Registration Counties, making statistical mapping very straightforward.

Overview

Water companies in the UK are responsible for testing the quality of drinking water. This dataset contains the results of samples taken from the taps in domestic households to make sure they meet the standards set out by UK and European legislation. This data shows the location, date, and measured levels of determinands set out by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI).

Key Definitions

Aggregation

Process involving summarizing or grouping data to obtain a single or reduced set of information, often for analysis or reporting purposes

Anonymisation

Anonymised data is a type of information sanitization in which data anonymisation tools encrypt or remove personally identifiable information from datasets for the purpose of preserving a data subject's privacy

Dataset

Structured and organized collection of related elements, often stored digitally, used for analysis and interpretation in various fields.

Determinand

A constituent or property of drinking water which can be determined or estimated.

DWI

Drinking Water Inspectorate, an organisation “providing independent reassurance that water supplies in England and Wales are safe and drinking water quality is acceptable to consumers.”

DWI Determinands

Constituents or properties that are tested for when evaluating a sample for its quality as per the guidance of the DWI. For this dataset, only determinands with “point of compliance” as “customer taps” are included.

Granularity

Data granularity is a measure of the level of detail in a data structure. In time-series data, for example, the granularity of measurement might be based on intervals of years, months, weeks, days, or hours

ID

Abbreviation for Identification that refers to any means of verifying the unique identifier assigned to each asset for the purposes of tracking, management, and maintenance.

LSOA

Lower-Level Super Output Area is made up of small geographic areas used for statistical and administrative purposes by the Office for National Statistics. It is designed to have homogeneous populations in terms of population size, making them suitable for statistical analysis and reporting. Each LSOA is built from groups of contiguous Output Areas with an average of about 1,500 residents or 650 households allowing for granular data collection useful for analysis, planning and policy- making while ensuring privacy.

ONS

Office for National Statistics

Open Data Triage

The process carried out by a Data Custodian to determine if there is any evidence of sensitivities associated with Data Assets, their associated Metadata and Software Scripts used to process Data Assets if they are used as Open Data. <

Sample

A sample is a representative segment or portion of water taken from a larger whole for the purpose of analysing or testing to ensure compliance with safety and quality standards.

Schema

Structure for organizing and handling data within a dataset, defining the attributes, their data types, and the relationships between different entities. It acts as a framework that ensures data integrity and consistency by specifying permissible data types and constraints for each attribute.

Units

Standard measurements used to quantify and compare different physical quantities.

Water Quality

The chemical, physical, biological, and radiological characteristics of water, typically in relation to its suitability for a specific purpose, such as drinking, swimming, or ecological health. It is determined by assessing a variety of parameters, including but not limited to pH, turbidity, microbial content, dissolved oxygen, presence of substances and temperature.

Data History

Data Origin

These samples were taken from customer taps. They were then analysed for water quality, and the results were uploaded to a database. This dataset is an extract from this database.

Data Triage Considerations

Granularity

Is it useful to share results as averages or individual?

We decided to share as individual results as the lowest level of granularity

Anonymisation

It is a requirement that this data cannot be used to identify a singular person or household. We discussed many options for aggregating the data to a specific geography to ensure this requirement is met. The following geographical aggregations were discussed:

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Water Supply Zone (WSZ) - Limits interoperability with other datasets

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Postcode – Some postcodes contain very few households and may not offer necessary anonymisation

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Postal Sector – Deemed not granular enough in highly populated areas

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Rounded Co-ordinates – Not a recognised standard and may cause overlapping areas

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MSOA – Deemed not granular enough

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LSOA – Agreed as a recognised standard appropriate for England and Wales

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Data Zones – Agreed as a recognised standard appropriate for Scotland

Data Specifications

Each dataset will cover a calendar year of samples

This dataset will be published annually

Historical datasets will be published as far back as 2016 from the introduction of of The Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016

The Determinands included in the dataset are as per the list that is required to be reported to the Drinking Water Inspectorate.

Context

Many UK water companies provide a search tool on their websites where you can search for water quality in your area by postcode. The results of the search may identify the water supply zone that supplies the postcode searched. Water supply zones are not linked to LSOAs which means the results may differ to this dataset

Some sample results are influenced by internal plumbing and may not be representative of drinking water quality in the wider area.

Some samples are tested on site and others are sent to scientific laboratories.

Data Publish Frequency

Annually

Data Triage Review Frequency

Annually unless otherwise requested

Supplementary information

Below is a curated selection of links for additional reading, which provide a deeper understanding of this dataset.

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Drinking Water Inspectorate Standards and Regulations:

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https://www.dwi.gov.uk/drinking-water-standards-and-regulations/

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LSOA (England and Wales) and Data Zone (Scotland):

<!--4. https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files/geography/2011-census/geography-bckground-info-comparison-of-thresholds.pdf

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Description for LSOA boundaries by the ONS: Census 2021 geographies - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

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Postcode to LSOA lookup tables: Postcode to 2021 Census Output Area to Lower Layer Super Output Area to Middle Layer Super Output Area to Local Authority District (August 2023) Lookup in the UK (statistics.gov.uk)

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Legislation history: Legislation - Drinking Water Inspectorate (dwi.gov.uk)

Measurements of height, width, weight, shell weight, body weight, sex maturity, age and Fulton factor for 383 individual whelk (Buccinum undatum), caught in 2018 and 2015 In UK waters (North Norfolk, Poole, Portsmouth, Celtic Sea).