Water scarcity in Scotland worsens

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has increased the water scarcity status of the bulk of south west Scotland and much of central Scotland. According to a report published last week, these areas are now classified as in "moderate scarcity" (see map).

The Loch Maree area remains in ‘significant scarcity’. The rest of the country is at the lower but still elevated ‘alert’ level. SEPA explained: “Due to the widespread hot, dry weather persisting over the last week, the rapid drying of ground conditions has continued. This, combined with low river flows, has meant the majority of the rest of Scotland remains at Alert level, and the Ythan & Don in Aberdeenshire and the Kintyre Group in Argyll and Bute have increased to Alert level.”

In terms of outlook, SEPA warned: “The anticipated average rainfall over the coming days is expected to do little to alleviate the current water scarcity situation and dry weather is expected to dominate into late June and early July. If there is no recovery in river levels there will be several areas seeing Significant Water Scarcity in the coming weeks, starting with the Esk area of Dumfriesshire next week. If rivers remain at very low flows for more than 30 consecutive days there is a heightened risk of severe, long-lasting ecological impact.”