Water activities
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Scotland’s water environment is one of our most important national resources. It plays a crucial role in the health, wellbeing, and economic growth of our country. It provides our access to safe drinking water, underpins our renewable energy, agricultural, and industrial activities, and supports a rich diversity of wildlife which are essential for maintaining our water environment.
However, some activities can pose a serious risk to the water environment. These threats can impact the people who rely on water for health, recreation, and livelihood, as well as animals that depend on these aquatic habitats.
To protect the water environment SEPA regulates certain types of activities under the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations (EASR). The activities we regulate include:
Discharges or disposals to the water environment
These can be directly to a surface water or indirectly via land or soakaway. For example, the discharge of sewage effluent or cooling water or the disposal of waste sheep dip.
Abstractions from the water environment
An abstraction is the removal or diversion of water from the natural water environment, by a variety of means, including pumps, pipes, boreholes and wells.
Impoundments
An impoundment is any dam, weir or other structure that can raise the water level of a water body above its natural level. Impoundments can be used to create a reservoir, store flood water or maintain or raise water levels within a wetland or water body.
Activities liable to cause pollution such as the application of fertiliser
If not carried out appropriately these activities can cause pollution. For example, land use and management activities such as livestock grazing or the cultivation of land. These activities can cause diffuse pollution. This is the release of potential pollutants that individually may have no effect on the water environment, but at the scale of a catchment can have a significant impact.
Engineering works in rivers and lochs
This includes activities such as bank works (bank protection, reprofiling etc) and sediment removal activities.
Other activities regulated by EASR
- The storage of oil.
- Waste activities that have the potential to impact on the water environment.
- Industrial activities that have the potential to impact on the water environment.
- Radioactive activities that have the potential to impact on the water environment.
Appling for an authoriation
When determining an application to carry out one of these activities, we consider if the activity will breach environment standards. These standards reflect the conditions needed for aquatic life or to maintain good groundwater resources. We also consider the impacts that these activities could have on bathing waters, shellfish waters, drinking water, protected areas for nature conservation and other users of the water environment.
You can find out about how we regulate these activities on our Water Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations webpages.
We also provide feedback on some planning applications. For example, on proposals for new cemeteries in relation to protecting groundwater and surface water.
We carry out monitoring of the water environment and report the state of the water environment in the River Basin Management Plan. This plan also sets out measures that need to be taken to restore the water environment.
Looking for something else?
For any other regulatory topic relating to water activities please visit our Legacy website.