This dataset contains information about water quality based on faecal indicators at 15 lakes in the Greater Glasgow conurbation, Scotland. Lakes were sampled in winter (2016/17) and summer (2017) with faecal indicators being quantified at high spatial resolution (up to 60 points per lake depending on water body size) in sediment and water from each lake. Faecal indicators were quantified based on standard dilution, membrane filtration and incubation for water, and incubation in bacteria-specific broth, followed by plating and incubation for sediment extracts. Contextual information about water quality, water bird densities, and land cover in different buffer sizes is also provided for each lake. The data were collected to investigate how connectivity and stressors interact to determine biodiversity and ecosystem function in freshwaters. The work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council grant NE/N006437/1 (Hydroscape: connectivity x stressor interactions in freshwater habitats) Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/34df30f2-3163-4c11-8743-3732e49220fb

This dataset contains information about water quality based on faecal indicators at eighteen lakes in each of three lake districts: - Greater Glasgow conurbation, Scotland - Cumbria, NW England - Norfolk, E England. Lakes were sampled once in each of three seasons (spring, summer and autumn) in either 2016 (Norfolk) or 2017 (Cumbria and Greater Glasgow) with faecal indicators being quantified at three discrete sampling stations in each lake (>50m apart) and at three points at each station (i.e. nine samples per lake per sampling date). Faecal indicators were quantified based on standard dilution, membrane filtration and incubation, followed by colony counting. The data were collected to investigate the fine scale connectivity between Faecal Indicator Organisms (FIO) densities within water bodies and diffuse and point source inputs from the adjacent catchment and from biological vectors. They also provide an indication of the relative sources of variation in reported concentrations that is relevant for environmental regulatory purposes. The work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council grant NE/N006437/1 (Hydroscape: connectivity x stressor interactions in freshwater habitats). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/5f988cd4-479d-4e35-8835-42f80ebc1698