Rainfall brings widespread improvement in water scarcity conditions
Date published: 01 October 2026
Recent rainfall has brought a marked improvement in water scarcity conditions across Scotland, with no areas now at Significant Scarcity compared with seven in the previous report.
The latest Water Scarcity Report from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) shows conditions have improved across a number of areas following recent rainfall.
Stonehaven, North Esk, Tay Estuary (North), North Fife, Fife (East Neuk), Whiteadder Water and Berwickshire coastal have all recovered from Significant Scarcity in the last week. The number of areas at Moderate Scarcity has also reduced from five to two, with only Tyne (Lothian) and Tweed catchments remaining at this level.
However, the improvement does not mean water scarcity pressures have ended. River flows, soil moisture and groundwater levels remain low across much of eastern Scotland, and more prolonged rainfall will be needed for a sustained recovery. Without sustained rainfall, the Lower Tweed area could reach Significant Scarcity within the next week.
Among other areas showing recovery this week, Esk (Angus), Firth of Tay and Firth of Forth have moved down to Alert; Deveron and Ythan have moved to Early Warning; and Cree and Spey have returned to Normal Conditions.
Despite recent rain, prolonged dry conditions remain
Despite the improving overall picture, the underlying indicators continue to show the effects of prolonged dry conditions. River flows remain low to very low across much of eastern Scotland, while the west continues to experience normal to high flows.
Ground conditions also remain dry across parts of eastern Scotland, with only limited improvement in soil moisture in recent weeks. Groundwater levels remain low to very low across much of the east, although levels elsewhere are generally normal or above normal.
Claire Tunaley, Senior Hydrologist in SEPA’s Water Resources Unit, said:
“The recent rainfall has helped with recovery, and it is encouraging that we no longer have any areas at Significant Scarcity.
“However, this follows a prolonged period of dry weather and we are not yet seeing a full recovery across eastern Scotland. River flows, soil moisture and groundwater remain low in a number of areas, particularly in the south-east.
“What happens next will depend on the amount and persistence of rainfall we receive. Short periods of rain can improve conditions, but sustained rainfall is needed to replenish rivers, soils and groundwater after a prolonged dry period.”
The latest Water Scarcity Report, together with advice for abstractors and irrigators and SEPA’s Drought Risk Assessment Tool, is available on the SEPA website.
SEPA will continue to publish weekly updates on water scarcity conditions until all areas have recovered to Alert or below.
Notes to editors
Current water scarcity levels
Moderate Scarcity: Tyne (Lothian), Tweed
Alert: Don (Aberdeenshire), Dee (Aberdeen), Esk (Angus), Firth of Tay, Firth of Forth, Almond
Early warning: Findhorn, Deveron, Ythan, Tay, Earn
All areas not mentioned above are at Normal conditions
Current data and conditions
The latest information on water scarcity and river conditions is available through:
SEPA's Water Scarcity Situation Report – 01 October 2026 – the weekly assessment of water scarcity conditions across Scotland.
SEPA's Drought Risk Assessment Tool – shows low-flow monitoring stations and how close areas are to Significant Scarcity
SEPA's River Level Network – current river-level information from monitoring stations across Scotland
Rainfall data for Scotland – current and historic rainfall information
Water scarcity and flooding
Scotland can experience flooding and water scarcity at the same time. The two are not contradictory.
Flooding can result from intense rainfall over a relatively short period, while water scarcity reflects the effects of prolonged dry conditions on rivers soils and groundwater. Conditions can therefore vary considerably between different parts of Scotland and individual catchments.
Rain in an area also does not automatically mean water scarcity conditions will improve. After prolonged dry weather, intense rainfall can cause river levels to rise rapidly and lead to localised flooding, but those rises may be short lived. For water scarcity conditions to recover, river flows need to improve sufficiently and remain higher over time.
Dry soils and low groundwater levels can also take longer to recover, meaning sustained rainfall over longer periods may be needed to reverse the effects of prolonged dry conditions.
Water scarcity levels
SEPA uses five levels to describe water scarcity: Normal Conditions, Early Warning, Alert, Moderate Scarcity and Significant Scarcity.
The levels reflect increasing pressure on the water environment. At Significant Scarcity, SEPA may temporarily restrict abstractions from the environment where necessary to protect rivers and ecosystems.
Water scarcity levels relate to the water environment and are not an assessment of public drinking water supplies.
DRAT stations and significant scarcity
SEPA monitors a network of long-established low-flow gauging stations across Scotland to identify when river flows have remained unusually low for a sustained period.
The Drought Risk Assessment Tool (DRAT) shows how many days each station has been below Q95, a recognised low-flow threshold. When a station reaches 30 days below Q95, the catchments it represents move to Significant Scarcity and SEPA will impose any abstraction restrictions required.
Each station represents a defined Significant Scarcity area, which may contain one river or several catchments. As a result, the number of DRAT stations reaching the threshold and the number of areas at Significant Scarcity may be different.
How long water scarcity can last
Water scarcity does not necessarily end at the end of summer. Conditions can improve or deteriorate depending on rainfall and how rivers, soils and groundwater respond.
Further information and support
The National Water Scarcity Plan explains how water scarcity is monitored and managed in Scotland.
Further information is available on: