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Eight Scottish river catchments still at Significant Scarcity

Just two weeks ago 17 areas were classed at Significant Scarcity. This week that number sits at eight, reflecting the impact of recent rainfall but highlighting that the impacts of 2025’s dry weather are not over.

Orkney has now moved into Significant Scarcity after prolonged extremely low river flows, while rivers in the north-east, including the Avon, Lower Spey, Deveron, Ythan, South Ugie Water, Upper and Lower Don (Aberdeenshire) also remain under severe pressure. Temporary restrictions on some abstraction licences continue in these areas.

Further south rain has allowed some recovery, but key rivers still sit at Moderate Scarcity, indicating ongoing stress on river systems. The Findhorn East catchment now sits at Moderate, along with the rest of the Findhorn, the Spey, the Firth of Tay, Tyne (Lothian) and Thurso.

The Dee (Aberdeen) and Esk (Angus) have improved to Alert. Much of the rest of the country is now classed as Normal Conditions.

This year’s water scarcity has had a significant impact on businesses. At its peak, SEPA introduced restrictions on around 270 abstraction licences to protect the environment, with measures affecting farmers, distilleries and other water-dependent industries. Restrictions remain in place in areas still at Significant Scarcity, meaning the difficulties are far from over for businesses in those areas. SEPA officers have been out in catchments monitoring conditions and supporting abstractors, with good compliance reported across the country.

Earliest low flows on record

SEPA analysis confirms that 2025 has been an unusual year for water scarcity, based on how early low flow conditions began. 

The Lower Spey, for example, recorded the earliest low flow countdown in 70 years of data. Historically, low flow days in May have only been recorded on four occasions – with just two days in 1960, and three days each in 2017 and 2018. In contrast, May 2025 saw 27 days of low flow days, highlighting the early onset of conditions this year.

These early and prolonged low flows show the scale of pressure on Scotland’s rivers. Short periods of rainfall prevented longer consecutive runs of scarcity, but the stress on the environment and water users has still been severe. With Autumn underway, higher-than-average rainfall throughout the coming months will be essential to replenish water resources and reverse the deficits built up over 2024 and 2025.

David Harley, SEPA’s Head of Water and Planning, said: 

“While we are in an improved position than we were earlier this month, some rivers are still struggling and restrictions remain in place in these areas to protect the environment. 

“This year we’ve had to impose restrictions on hundreds of licences, underlining the real impact water scarcity has on businesses. It isn’t just a summer inconvenience, 2025 has seen the earliest onset of scarcity in decades and rivers like the Spey have spent more days at low flow than ever before. That underlines how vulnerable parts of Scotland are becoming as our climate changes. 

“Recovery will depend on above-average rainfall through the autumn and winter, but long-term resilience depends on how we plan, adapt, and change our relationship with water. Water is a precious resource, and building resilience to scarcity will be vital for our environment, our communities and our businesses.” 

Notes to editors

Water scarcity levels

• Early Warning: Conditions are drying. No action required, but abstractors should start preparing. 
• Alert: Water levels are falling. SEPA advises voluntary reductions in non-essential water use for abstractors. 
• Moderate Scarcity: Environmental impact is clear. Action from abstractors is expected to protect rivers and the species that rely on them. 
• Significant Scarcity: Critical river levels. Restrictions on abstraction licences may be imposed.

Data sources

• SEPA Water Scarcity situation report - 25th September 2025 
• SEPA’s river level network - Find Scottish water levels information
• Rainfall data for Scotland - Scottish Rainfall Data
• DRAT - Water scarcity data - provided by Scottish Environment Protection Agency 

DRAT stations, Q95 and Significant Scarcity

Anyone can track conditions via SEPA’s Drought Risk Assessment Tool (DRAT), which shows colour-coded stations across Scotland and how close they are to Significant Scarcity.  

Clicking on an individual station will show how many days it has been below Q95, a recognised low flow threshold. When a station reaches 30 days the catchments linked to the station will be moved to Significant Scarcity, and SEPA will move to impose any restrictions required.     

DRAT is a network of flow gauging stations that SEPA monitor across Scotland and are used to set significant water scarcity when flows have been low for a sustained period of time.  

Data has been collected at these stations for a long period of time, so this allows us to give context to what is currently happening with the amount of flow in rivers relative to what you would normally expect.  

The river flow stations are each used as a representation of the conditions over an area, called a significant water scarcity area. The area and representative gauging stations are displayed on the tool. 

Each station may represent a single river or a group of catchments. For this reason, the number of DRAT stations and areas at Significant Scarcity may be different. 

Further support and useful links

The National Water Scarcity Plan explains how water resources will be managed prior to and during periods of prolonged dry weather. This is to ensure the correct balance is struck between protecting the environment and providing resource for human and economic activity. 

Report dry private water supplies and rivers and burns in your area to help SEPA assess water scarcity stress. 

All water abstractors should be aware of the risk of water scarcity, monitor their water use, and plan ahead for a range of weather conditions. Find further advice for abstractors and irrigators on our website.