Water Situation Report 17th September 2020

HEADLINES

The Western Isles, Shetland, Ewe and Inver catchments are now back to normal

conditions.

The Naver and Moray Rivers catchments have improved and are now back at

Alert level.

Conditions in the north-east Highlands remain the same. The Helmsdale

catchment stays at Moderate Scarcity.

Situation summary

Recent rainfall has improved river flows and ground

conditions in the north-west of the country. This has

also resulted in some recovery of loch levels.

Therefore, the Western Isles, Shetland, Ewe and

Inver catchments are now back at Normal Conditions.

The Naver catchment has also largely seen this

recovery, although some watercourses remain at low

levels where the rainfall did not reach. As a result the

catchment is now at Alert level.

River levels in the Moray Rivers catchment have also

recovered, therefore the catchment has been reduced

to Alert level.

The Helmsdale catchment remains at Moderate

Scarcity, due to prolonged periods of low river levels.

Parts of the north-east remain at Moderate Scarcity

due to insufficient recovery in the area and another

dry week forecast. Groundwater levels have not

shown any recovery following the recent rainfall, and

remain extremely low.

SEPA is monitoring the situation closely and

coordinating steps to manage water resources in line

with Scotland's National Water Scarcity Plan.

Advice for water users

Public water supplies are operating normally.

There is increasing risk to private water supplies. If you are impacted you can find advice at the

following link: https://www.mygov.scot/housing-local-services/water-supplies-sewerage/private-

water-supplies/.

For the most up to date advice please see: Advice for abstractors.

Water abstractors with concerns about meeting licence conditions or wishing to discuss contingency

measures should contact SEPA at the following e-mail address Water Scarcity mailbox.

Rainfall forecast – 17/09/20

Mainly dry and settled for the next five days. Some rain possible across the Western Isles and far

north-west on Monday

The latest long-term forecast suggests that for September-October-November as a whole, above-

average precipitation is slightly more likely than below-average precipitation. Above-average

temperatures are also more likely over this period. For further details on the seasonal forecast see

the latest 3-month outlook summaries at

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/services/government/contingency-planners/index.

Further details on the current situation are provided in the following figures:

16th September 2020

Groundwater levels are showing

signs of recovery across most of the

country. However, groundwater

levels in the north and north-east are

still very low and falling.

We have up to date data for 14

groundwater monitoring sites, spread

across the east and south-west of the

country giving a good picture of the

current situation. Levels from a

selection of representative sites are

shown in the charts below.

Most surface water storage loch

levels have returned to normal across

the north of Scotland. The majority of

sites across the country are in the

normal to high range for this time of

year.

The following charts show the trend in groundwater level

(GWL) since winter 2019/20 at selected monitoring sites

(see map above). The black line shows groundwater level.

The coloured zones represent the normal range and pattern

of groundwater level, based on average monthly levels from

the long-term record.

Very high groundwater level

High groundwater level

Normal groundwater level range

Low groundwater level

Very low groundwater level

Natural water storage situation

In each river catchment there is some degree of water storage, which can maintain river flows

even when it is not raining. This natural water storage is mainly held in lochs and groundwater.

When natural storage has been depleted it will take a lot of rainfall for levels to recover.

Please note that the map below does not reflect conditions in managed water supply reservoirs.

• Murton

• Drumine

• Newbridge

• Redmoss

• Scotlandwell

• Deerdykes

• Annan

21

22

23

12/19 02/20 04/20 06/20 08/20 10/20 12/20

GW

L m

AO

D

Drumine (data record from 2009)

100

101

102

12/19 02/20 04/20 06/20 08/20 10/20 12/20

GW

L m

AO

D

Redmoss (data record from 2008)

50

51

51

52

52

53

53

54

12/19 02/20 04/20 06/20 08/20 10/20 12/20

GW

L m

AO

D

Deerdykes Deep (data record from 2008)

70

71

72

73

12/19 02/20 04/20 06/20 08/20 10/20 12/20

GW

L m

AO

D

Murton (data record from 2008)

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

12/19 02/20 04/20 06/20 08/20 10/20 12/20

GW

L m

AO

D

Scotlandwell (data record from 1998)

8

9

10

11

12

13

12/19 02/20 04/20 06/20 08/20 10/20 12/20

GW

L m

AO

D

Newbridge (data record from 1993)

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

12/19 02/20 04/20 06/20 08/20 10/20 12/20

GW

L m

AO

D

Annan (data record from 1993)