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Water scarcity persists in the east despite recent rainfall

While some areas saw heavy rain and surface water impacts over the weekend, it hasn’t been enough to ease the long-term pressures on rivers and groundwater. In contrast, conditions in the west have been stable for some time, underlining the east-west divide in Scotland’s water resources.  

This week’s report shows some recovery: 

• The Spey and Dee (Aberdeen) have recovered from Moderate Scarcity to Alert. 
• The Helmsdale catchment has recovered to Early Warning  
• The Shin, Beauly, Ness and Lochy (Inverness-shire) catchments have recovered to Normal Conditions.   

However, Moderate Scarcity persists in the Deveron, Ythan, Don (Aberdeenshire), Esk, Firth of Tay and Tyne (Lothian). The Outer Hebrides and Orkney have been raised to Early Warning and several other areas remain in Alert.  

Towards the end of last week several catchments were on track to reach 30 consecutive days of flows below Q95, a critical threshold that signals Significant Scarcity. SEPA’s extensive network of monitoring stations across Scotland meant water resources experts were able to track these catchments closely, showing how recent rainfall had made enough of a difference to allow the agency to act with confidence and avoid unnecessary restrictions, while still protecting the environment. 

SEPA are reminding abstractors that the underlying long-term rainfall deficit in the east remains substantial. The first half of 2025 was exceptionally dry, and groundwater levels remain low following a lack of winter recharge. Even after the weekend downpours, many of the rivers in the east have started to fall again. 

Ellie Willmott, SEPA Principal Hydrologist in Water Resources, said: 

“It can be confusing; how can we have Flood Alerts and water scarcity in the same week?  However short, intense rainfall can cause surface water flooding but often the ground can’t absorb it fast enough. This kind of rain doesn’t effectively recharge groundwater and restore long-term resilience. 

“It’s only July, there’s still a lot of summer to come, and the environmental pressures from low river flows can take much longer to recover from than people realise. We were in a very similar situation in mid-May, where rain provided some recovery – and then another period of hot and dry weather followed. That’s why we’re urging abstractors, particularly in the east, to keep using water efficiently, plan ahead and work with others in at risk catchments to stagger abstractions. We'll continue to monitor conditions closely, publish weekly updates and keep abstractors informed.” 

Notes to Editors

• Q95 refers to river flow conditions that are exceeded 95% of the time - a common threshold for defining low flows. 
• SEPA’s four-tier water scarcity scale: Early Warning, Alert, Moderate Scarcity, Significant Scarcity. 

Data sources

• Water scarcity situation report - 24th July 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

Significant Scarcity

Significant scarcity is reached when river flows have been very low for 30 or more days. We use a tool called the Drought Risk Assessment Tool (DRAT) to set significant scarcity level. 

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.

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 potential risk of water scarcity this summer, monitor their water use, and plan ahead for a range of weather conditions. Find further advice for abstractors and irrigators on our website.