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North East rivers remain low as 2025’s dry spell continues — how you can help SEPA assess the impacts

This week’s water scarcity report from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) shows that the River Avon, Lower Spey, and parts of the Ythan remain at Significant Water Scarcity. SEPA continues to manage a limited number of restrictions on abstraction licences in these areas to protect the environment.

The Deveron and the remainder of the Spey and Ythan catchments are at Moderate Scarcity. The Findhorn, Don (Aberdeenshire), Firth of Tay, Tyne (Lothian), Orkney and Shetland remain at Alert, with a number of other catchments at Early Warning. 

SEPA’s weekly water scarcity reports, issued since April, track these variations to help businesses and communities understand where rivers remain unusually dry.

While some rain is forecast over the weekend, it is unclear how much relief this will bring. With October school holidays in full swing many people are already out and about enjoying Scotland’s rivers and natural environment. To help build the clearest possible picture of the environmental impact, SEPA are encouraging members of the public who are already outdoors to report any signs of water scarcity they see.

A SEPA spokesperson said:

“2025 has been unusual both in scale and in the length of time dry conditions have persisted. Even now, rivers such as the Ythan continue to show stress. 

“For most people water scarcity will be a distant summer memory, but with school holidays underway many are exploring parts of the country they don’t normally visit. Observations from the public, including clear photographs, descriptions, and locations, are incredibly valuable. Combined with SEPA’s monitoring, this information helps us understand the full impact of this year’s weather and better prepare Scotland’s water environment for the future.”

Tell SEPA about

• Dry private water supplies (e.g. wells and springs)
• Rivers with isolated pools separated by stretches that are dry or have only a trickle of water
• Distressed or dead fish or invertebrates
• Large numbers of dead plants on parts of the riverbed that are rarely exposed
• A lot of exposed algae over 100s of metres, combined with very low flows

It’s helpful to 

• provide a clear photograph and short description of what you see
• name the river or burn
• include a location (grid reference, postcode, or nearby landmark)

Send your information to our low flows mailbox

SEPA will continue to publish weekly water scarcity updates to keep communities, land managers, and businesses informed.

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 - 16th October 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.