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Dry weather sees water scarcity spread further across Scotland

This week's report shows that the number of catchments affected continues to grow, with four additional areas moving into Moderate Scarcity and nine more reaching Early Warning. Around half of Scotland’s river catchments are now at one of SEPA’s water scarcity levels.

Moderate Scarcity is now in place in the Tyne in Lothian, Firth of Forth, Firth of Tay, Don in Aberdeenshire, Esk and Tweed catchments.

Alert remains in place for the Deveron, Ythan, Dee in Aberdeenshire, Almond and Findhorn catchments, while Early Warning now covers the Conon, Spey, Tay, Earn, Ness, Forth, Esk in Dumfriesshire, Annan, Nith, Dee in Galloway, Cree, Clyde, Irvine and Ayr catchments.

The River Lossie catchment is no longer at Significant Scarcity following rainfall last weekend. However, the overall trend across Scotland is one of continued drying, with more catchments now affected.

Water scarcity means there is less water available in rivers, lochs and groundwater, increasing pressure on the environment and on businesses, farmers and other organisations that rely on taking water directly from these natural sources.

Rainfall has been normal to wet across western and much of northern Scotland. In contrast, much of the east has experienced dry conditions, with parts of Angus and Fife extremely dry.

River flows reflect this pattern, with high to very high flows across western catchments and low to very low flows across much of the east. In the Tweed catchment, July river flows at the Coldstream gauging station reached the second lowest recorded at the site since records began in 1971.

Ground conditions are dry across much of eastern Scotland, particularly in parts of the northeast and along the east coast. Groundwater levels in Fife are also very low for the time of year.

SEPA are continuing to work directly with businesses, farmers and other organisations that take water from rivers, lochs and groundwater, providing practical advice to help them plan ahead, use water efficiently and reduce pressure on the environment.

Eilidh Johnston, SEPA Senior Leader in Compliance, said:

“Scotland’s climate is changing, and periods of prolonged dry weather are becoming an increasingly important challenge for our rivers and the businesses that rely on taking water directly from the environment.

“While conditions are not as severe as they were at this point last year, the coming weeks and months are a critical time for water demand. Those who take water directly from rivers, lochs and groundwater should already be taking steps to use less, plan ahead and make sure they are prepared if conditions continue to deteriorate.

“We are working directly with businesses and other water users in affected catchments, providing practical advice to help them manage water responsibly and reduce pressure on Scotland’s rivers and the plants and animals that depend on them.

“Acting early will help protect the environment and reduce the risk of restrictions being needed later in the summer. Anyone concerned about accessing enough water for their business, or who needs advice on preparing for drier conditions, should contact SEPA as early as possible.”

SEPA are advising businesses and other organisations that take water directly from the environment to:

• monitor how much water they are using;

• use water as efficiently as possible;

• keep equipment in good working order to reduce leaks and losses;

• understand the water scarcity level in their catchment;

• have contingency plans in place should conditions worsen.

People can also help by reporting signs of water scarcity, including exceptionally low river levels, dry riverbeds and impacts on habitats, through SEPA’s website. These observations complement SEPA’s monitoring network and help build a clearer picture of conditions across Scotland.

The latest Water Scarcity Report, catchment maps, advice for businesses and other water users, and information on reporting signs of water scarcity are available on SEPA’s water scarcity pages.

Notes to editors

SEPA media releases in 2026

• 10th March Recovery after 2025 drought, but risks remain, say SEPA 

• 28th May SEPA encourages abstractors to plan ahead following dry conditions

• 25th June Abstractors urged to plan ahead following recent dry weather

• 2nd July Dry weather conditions continue in the east of the country

• 9th July River Lossie reaches Significant water scarcity as dry conditions continue across eastern Scotland

 

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 July 2026

• 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 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.