Water scarcity

Spring/Summer is a crucial time of year for water demand. We produce weekly water scarcity reports between May – September.

Everyone is strongly encouraged to build water resilience into their business as this can help with plans for the future. By taking the right steps now, it could help reduce the impact of water scarcity in the future.

SEPA are responsible for the forecast, monitoring and report of the situation facing Scotland's water resources and produces a regular report during the summer months.

SEPA continually assesses the impacts of prolonged periods of drier than average weather on our environment. If dry weather continues, as we expect it will with climate change, the areas affected will grow.

This tool is used as additional evidence of water scarcity. It shows the number of days that river flows have been very low and helps us identify where there is more risk of long-term impacts on ecology. The tool updates daily at 09:30 GMT.

Very dry ground can act like concrete, which means rain quickly runs off without soaking in. This increases the risk of surface water flooding, especially if the rain is heavy.