Water restrictions extended as Fife faces dry conditions
Scotland’s environment watchdog has extended temporary water abstraction restrictions into Fife as dry conditions continue.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s decision come after Fife (East Neuk) and North Fife reached “significant water scarcity” following prolonged dry conditions.
SEPA has been warning about the risk of water scarcity over the summer and working closely with licence holders and organisations including Fisheries Management Scotland, NFU Scotland, the Scotch Whisky Association and Scottish Golf to help those who abstract water from the environment prepare for the possibility of temporary restrictions.
And although further rain is forecast this week, it said it is too soon to know what impact it will have on river flows.
Water scarcity is driven by river flows and cumulative conditions over weeks and months, not whether it rains on a particular day. SEPA will continue to monitor conditions closely and lift restrictions as soon as river conditions recover.
Shona McConnell, SEPA's head of compliance, said: "The rainfall we have seen so far this week has not been enough to reverse the impact of prolonged dry conditions in these catchments. We will carefully assess the impact of further rain this week on a daily basis to ensure that restrictions are appropriate.
"River flows in Fife (East Neuk) and North Fife have now remained below the recognised Q95 low flow threshold for 30 consecutive days. At this point, temporary restrictions on licensed water abstraction are needed to protect rivers and the wildlife that depends on them.
"Our officers will be out in the affected catchments, working directly with licence holders to help them understand and comply with the temporary restrictions and answer any questions they may have.
"These decisions are based on measured river conditions, not fixed dates. We assess river flows every day using our Drought Risk Assessment Tool and, as soon as river flows recover above the threshold, these temporary restrictions will be lifted. Our priority is to protect Scotland's rivers while ensuring restrictions remain in place only for as long as they're needed."