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The WFD defines the River Basin District (RBD) as ‘the area of land and sea, made up of one or more neighbouring river basins together with their associated groundwaters and coastal waters’. ‘A ‘river basin’ means the area of land from which all surface run-off flows through a sequence of streams, rivers and, possibly, lakes into the sea at a single river mouth, estuary or delta.’ One river basin, including all its tributaries, must not be divided between different RBDs. One RBD may, however, include several (sometimes smaller) river basins, and shall also include associated coastal waters and groundwaters (e.g. Bothnian Bay (SE) or Adour-Garonne (FR)).

The RBD is the main unit for management of river basins as specified in Article 3(1) for which Competent Authorities (in both national and international RBDs) need to be identified that will manage the administrative arrangements and apply the rules of the Directive (Article 3(2) and Article 3(3)) within the RBD. Through Article 3(4) and Article 3(5) there is a requirement to co-ordinate the actions (nationally and internationally) to achieve the Environmental Objectives established by the Directive (Article 4) through the planned PoMs.

This designation of RBDs is, therefore, one of the core aspects of the integrated river basin management approach setting out the geographical extent for the co-ordination of water resources. The principle of holistic water management at the catchment level, from source to sea and based on surface waters and associated groundwaters, rather than on administrative boundaries, is reflected in the requirement for RBD designation.

The WFD requires the designation of Competent Authorities (Article 3, Annex I) within each RBD including for the portion of any international RBD lying within their territory. Member States notified the European Commission of their Competent Authorities in 2004. In addition to name and geographical coverage, information was also provided on the legal and administrative responsibilities of each Competent Authority and of its role within each RBD. Where the Competent Authority acts as a co-ordinating body for other Competent Authorities, a list is required of these bodies together with a summary of the institutional relationships established to ensure co-ordination. The RBMPs should also include a list of Competent Authorities in accordance with Annex I (Annex VII.10).