Frequently Asked Questions

This page provides answers to some of the more frequently asked questions about the UKLakes database ... if your question is not answered below please contact us.

1. What is the definition of a 'freshwater body'?
2. How do I find information about a loch or lake?
3. I can't find a loch or lake, what now?
4. How was the database created?
5. How frequently is the database updated?
6. What happened to GBLakes?
7. What is a WBID?
8. Why does a lake name have quotes around it?

1. What is the definition of a 'freshwater body'?
For this project the definition of a freshwater body was any feature identified as water in the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 PANORAMA dataset. This dataset includes mainly contours but also has water body outlines (as seen on Landranger maps). The dataset has now been discontinued. The limit of inclusion of a feature in PANORAMA is about 0.1 ha (30m x 30m) although there are some smaller water bodies in the database.

2. How do I find information about a loch or lake?
Using the search tool you can find a lake or loch by its name or grid reference. You can also search by physical feature such as surface area or altitude and other attributes. The search results give a list of water bodies - click on a name for more information about that water body.

3. I can't find a loch or lake, what now?
If you have tried searching by name and grid reference and still have not found the water body you are looking for then it may not be in the database. This might be because it is too small - very small water bodies (less than about 20m x 20m) are not included in the OS PANORAMA dataset. If it is not a small water body then it may have been created after 1988 when the PANORAMA dataset was created in which case we will not have it our database yet. Please let us know if you still can't find a water body.

4. How was the database created?
OS PANORAMA data for the whole country were processed to extract water features only. These were then transformed into polygons to form the basis for the inventory. The water body polygons were then used in a GIS with other layers of geographic data to generate the data in the database. For larger water bodies (> 1ha, 100m x 100m), catchment polygons were also generated and these were used in the GIS to obtain catchment-related data.

5. How frequently is the database updated?
The database is updated periodically as and when new data become available.

6. What happened to GBLakes?
Great Britain (GB) includes England, Wales, Scotland (including the Isles) and the Isle of Man. The United Kingdom (UK) also includes Northern Ireland. Since the GBLakes project we have worked with the relevent agencies to include Northern Irish loughs and lakes in the database - hence the new name UKLakes.

7. What is a WBID?
Each unique water body in the PANORAMA digital dataset has been given an identifier which we have called WBID. Most of our database tables use this to identify a water body. WBID = water body ID.

8. Why does a lake name have quotes around it?
A lake name with quotes around it (e.g. ‘Ancroft Pond’) indicates an unofficial name. Names without quotes are names as they appear on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map series or other Ordnance Survey mapping.