Water Scarcity Situation Report 1st June 2017
HEADLINE
Risk of water scarcity alert for Tay, Forth, Tweed and North-East Scotland.
Early Warning of risk for Solway, Clyde, Argyll, West Highland and North Highland
Situation summary
Groundwater tables, river flows and some
reservoir levels are lower than normal for
the time of year especially in the East,
however mountain reservoirs are also low
across the country. Soils are also drier.
We are monitoring the situation closely and
coordinating steps to manage water
resources in line with Scotland's National
Water Scarcity Plan.
Public water supplies are operating
normally and are not a cause of immediate
concern. Contingency plans for maintaining
these supplies are in place should
conditions worsen.
Water sources used for irrigating farm land
are at risk of becoming limited particularly
in Lothian and Borders, Fife and Dundee
and Angus. We are urging farmers in these
areas, especially if taking water from burns
and small rivers,to:

Only irrigate when, and only as much
as, absolutely necessary;

Make sure irrigation equipment isn’t
leaking.

Try to irrigate at night to reduce
evaporation losses.

Risk of water scarcity
Explore how you and your neighbours
in the same river catchment could
avoid irrigating at the same time.

Consider whether you could switch to using groundwater rather than river water if conditions
worsen. If you would need a new borehole to do this, your local SEPA office will be able to help
and advise.
Managers of golf courses in this part of the country are asked to do the same.
Water abstractors with concerns about meeting licence conditions or wishing to discuss contingency
measures should contact their local SEPA office.
Background
With the exception of Orkney and Shetland, Scotland has had one of the driest winters in recent
years. Following the winter, rainfall in May in parts of the east of the country was only 45% of the
normal average for the month.
Whilst May has seen some rain,so far this has not been enough to bring water reserves back up to
normal levels,
It will now take considerable rainfall to restore water reserves to normal levels, particularly in the East.
The long-term forecast indicates that weather will remain changeable at the beginning of June with a
mixture of sunshine and showers with no clear picture beyond then.
Further details on the current situation can be provided below: