Summer’s legacy lingers into Autumn for Scotland’s south and east
Date published: 03 September 2026
Scotland has entered autumn with two areas at Significant Water Scarcity, as prolonged rainfall deficits continue to affect river flows.
Significant Water Scarcity has now been recorded somewhere in Scotland in each of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) past six weekly reports, although the areas affected have changed during that time.
The latest Water Scarcity Report from SEPA shows The Upper Tweed and Mid Tweed & Lauderdale have moved to Significant Scarcity this week. No abstraction licences are affected by this change.
Significant Scarcity is reached when representative river flows remain exceptionally low for 30 consecutive days.
Meanwhile, Dee (Galloway) and Urr Water have now moved out of Significant following rain this week, though the wider area remains at moderate scarcity. Across Scotland nine areas are at Moderate Scarcity, a level where environmental impacts are clear.
The picture varies sharply across Scotland. Recent rainfall has improved conditions in parts of the north-east, with Deveron, Ythan and Don (Aberdeenshire) moving from Moderate Scarcity to Alert. Doon, Irvine and Ayr have returned to Normal Conditions.
Further down the east coast, very low river flows continue. In Fife, North Fife and Fife (East Neuk) both reached Significant Scarcity earlier this summer before conditions improved following rainfall. Both have now recorded 25 consecutive days of very low flows again.
Stonehaven, North Esk and the Lower Earn areas are also at risk of moving to Significant next week.
The report comes at the beginning of meteorological autumn, which began on 1st September.
Eilidh Johnston, SEPA Senior Leader in Compliance, said:
“Scotland has a reputation for rain, so it can seem surprising to be at the start of autumn with two areas at Significant Water Scarcity, particularly when it may be raining where you are.
“But water scarcity isn’t determined by today’s weather. Rainfall deficits build up over time, and a few days of rain may not be enough to reverse the effects of a prolonged dry period.
“We can see that clearly this week. Conditions have improved in some areas, while rivers in parts of the south and east remain exceptionally low.
“This summer has shown why businesses which rely on water from the environment need to plan ahead. The impacts of dry conditions can last beyond the dry weather itself.
“As our climate changes, periods of water scarcity are expected to become more frequent and severe. Businesses need to understand what that could mean for them and have plans in place before water becomes constrained.”
Further showers are forecast on Friday, with potentially heavy rain on Sunday. SEPA will continue to monitor rainfall, river flows, soil moisture and groundwater levels and update water scarcity levels as conditions change.
Notes to editors
Current water scarcity levels
Significant Scarcity: Upper Tweed, Mid Tweed and Lauderdale
Moderate Scarcity: Dee (Aberdeen), Esk (Angus), Firth of Tay, Earn, Firth of Forth, Almond, Tyne (Lothian), Tweed, Dee (Galloway)
Alert: Findhorn, Deveron, Ythan, Don (Aberdeenshire), Esk (Dumfriesshire)
Early warning: Spey, Tay, Forth, Annan, Nith, Cree, Clyde, Shetland
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 – 03 September 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: