Heavily modified water bodies and artificial water bodies

Some water bodies have undergone significant changes to their natural flow and physical features, for example, construction of dams and flood protection, or dredging for navigation. Where the water body did not exist before, such as a canal built for navigation, it is termed “artificial”. Where the water did exist, but has been significantly changed, such as a river deepened or widened for navigation, it is termed “heavily modified”.
In the cases of such water bodies, the WFD allows countries to set the environmental objective as 'good potential' rather than good status.
The charts below show the proportions of natural, heavily modified and artificial water bodies in each of the three RBMP cycles. Use the dropdown box to select between rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal water bodies. This shows that high proportions of lakes and transitional waters have been modified in some countries.