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Water Management Overview

Summary

Agency board report number: SEPA 26/23 - May 2023

This paper outlines the framework for water environment
management in Scotland and SEPA’s role. The Board is asked to advise on which areas it wants to see in more detail.

Introduction

The River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) sets ambitious improvement targets for the water environment, to be delivered by 2027. Delivery requires a focused effort from across SEPA portfolios, as well as effectively regulating and influencing stakeholders.

There is a welcome increase in public appreciation of, and expectation for, the water environment.

Climate change and increased development will increase the pressure on the environment, and compound existing issues.

This paper gives an update on the RBMP process, and suggests further in-depth sessions with the Board on key work areas.

Background

The water environment in Scotland is managed through a legal framework built around the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Actions to protect and improve the water environment are set out in River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs), prepared every six years by SEPA and approved by Scottish Ministers. Scotland’s third RBMP was published in December 2021. This covers the period up to December 2027.

Scottish Ministers, SEPA and a range of public bodies have a legal duty to secure compliance with the WFD. This includes protecting the water environment and aiming to improve to good condition by 2027. The diagram shows the current status of the different themes in the RBMP, and the targets set for future years. Targets set for “beyond 2027” are for water bodies where we know there will be time needed for the ecology to recover.

RBMP is evidence based. It relies on our understanding of the ecological condition of the water environment using multiple water quality, water resource, biological and morphological indicators.

Water bodies classified as less than good have improvement action planned - provided the action is proportionate and feasible.

RBMP includes the management of Bathing Waters, Shellfish waters and wildlife conservation areas. Through the RBMP, SEPA will also require delivery of Scottish Water’s “Improving Urban waters” route map, which targets their work to address issues from Combined Sewer Overflows. Further detail about our work with Scottish Water is provided in Appendix A below.

Tools to Protect the water environment from deterioration include our monitoring network (to detect change and predict impacts from new developments), authorisation of new activities, planning advice, incident response, compliance with conditions of authorisation and enforcement action. It involves a wide range of SEPA functions and staff, and the majority of our resources on water are dedicated to preventing deterioration.

Tools to Improve the water environment include regulation of existing activities (such as the variation of licences to require improvements) and action delivered through the Water Environment Fund (WEF). This work is coordinated by staff in Circular Economy and the main delivery areas are described below.

• Water Quality
  • Farm visits in 57 priority catchments for rural diffuse pollution.
  • Work with Scottish Water on their wastewater infrastructure (40 Wastewater Treatment Works and 24 combined sewer overflows).
• Water Resources
  • Review of 34 hydropower schemes.
  • Review of licences for crop irrigation.
  • Water use by other industries (including distilling).
• Fish Migration
  • Removal or easement as required of 244 artificial barriers to fish migration.
• Physical Condition
  • Up to 51 urban river restoration projects funded through WEF.
  • Policy framework to support recovery of 141 rural rivers.

The third RBMP and supporting information and data is published online via the Water Environment Hub.

Objectives and outcomes are measured and tracked, and form part of SEPA’s Key Performance Indicators in the current Annual Operating Plan.

We have been working to understand the current programme and resource to deliver the River Basin Management Plan objectives for 2027 across all the workstreams; water quality (urban wastewater and rural diffuse pollution), water resources (public and industry water supply, including hydropower) barriers to fish migration and physical condition of riverbeds and banks. Delivery of improvement activities for some workstreams, particularly rural diffuse pollution and the Water Environment Fund (which are funded by Grant in Aid), will be particularly challenging against a backdrop of reducing resource. We are working across the Agency and with Scottish Government to consider how we might adjust some of the ways to most effectively deliver the activities for which SEPA is responsible.

Water in a changing world

There are a number of inter-related factors which will affect how we work on water into the future:

Environmental

The climate is changing; we are seeing more frequent droughts and more flooding.

Our water environment will be impacted by the additional stresses resulting from climate change which generally exacerbate the impact of other pressures such as nutrient inputs, chemical discharges and changes to habitat. We are seeing the impacts – Scottish Government has declared a biodiversity crisis, with wild salmon a particular focus of concern.

Societal

Public appreciation for the environment has increased, and with it their expectations. This is illustrated by the concerns around sewage being discharged into rivers from Combined Sewer Overflows.

In parallel, there is also an increased focus on housing development, food and energy security, and the cost of all three. There is a risk these will place further pressure on the water environment.

Economic

To deliver this work, SEPA can cost-recover from most sectors, but our work in the Water Environment Fund and on diffuse rural pollution are both funded by Grant in Aid. Delivering against a backdrop of decreasing funding is challenging.

Systemic change

Delivery of certain elements such as rural diffuse pollution and urban drainage require systemic change. Regulation alone cannot deliver the scale and pace of change necessary. Systemic approaches, bringing together partners and delivering multiple benefits are needed, requiring coordinated delivery across other government policy agendas, with the third sector, businesses and communities. One example of this is our work, with others, in promoting blue-green infrastructure to ensure our urban areas are resilient to increased flooding into the future.

Recommendations

The Board is asked to note the content of this paper.

The Board is asked to identify topics of interest for further detailed discussion, to help shape the corporate plan. Suggested topics are:

• Water scarcity;
• Combined Sewer Overflows;
• Rural diffuse pollution.

Appendix A: Scottish Water

Scottish Water (SW) is the single biggest organisation regulated by SEPA, with almost 9,000 licences and registrations.

SEPA regulates a range of SW activities, controlling the impacts on water quality, water quantity, fish migration, and reservoirs.

Water quality is regulated by conditions set in licences, which limit the quantity of polluting substances discharged. SW is responsible for achieving and monitoring compliance, and we audit their monitoring programme through the Measurement Assessment and Certification System. SEPA also monitors the environment directly around many of Scottish Water’s assets.

When necessary, and in line with our Enforcement Policy, SEPA takes robust regulatory action against Scottish Water.

Sustained effort by SEPA and Scottish Water has improved discharges over 100 sewage works over the past decade. During this time, we have also regulated Scottish Water and PFI companies to significantly reduce the number of sewage pollution incidents, from more than 800 to less than 300 per year.

Scottish Government chairs the Investment Planning and Prioritisation Group that makes decisions on priorities for Scottish Water investment, including environmental priorities. The Chief Officer of Circular Economy is SEPA’s representative on the group.

SEPA and Scottish Water have a mature and evolved regulatory relationship and there is regular and effective engagement at strategic, tactical and operational levels.

Scottish Water is committed to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. That will require a transformational change across the organisation.

Through a Sustainable Growth Agreement and a joint “Demonstrably Different” initiative, SEPA and Scottish Water are working to trial and demonstrate innovative circular economy and urban drainage issues. For example, a trial at Nigg’s Wastewater

Treatment Works saw green energy produced from sewage sludge combined with distillery residue from major distiller Chivas Brothers. In Aberdeen and Edinburgh, we are working jointly with the Local Authority and Scottish Water to use blue-green infrastructure to manage surface water in a changing climate, while also delivering better places for people to live and nature to flourish.