Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many rivers her Department assesses as at high risk of over-abstraction. [77235]

Richard Benyon MP; Minister of State: Under the water framework directive we classify our aquatic environment as water bodies: this includes rivers, estuaries, lakes and groundwaters etc. There are over 8,000 water bodies in England and Wales, of which there are over 5,800 river water bodies. Currently fewer than 300 of these are considered to be at high risk from abstraction pressures.

However, as part of the implementation of the first round of River Basin Management Plans, the Environment Agency is undertaking investigations to confirm this assessment. Once these investigations are completed appropriate action will be planned to take place during the remainder of the first cycle or subsequent river basin planning cycles to tackle the issue, if appropriate.