Water scarcity report - 10 July 2025
The Spey, Deveron, Ythan, Don (Aberdeenshire), Dee (Aberdeen), Esk, Firth of Tay and Tyne (Lothian) river catchments remain at Moderate Water Scarcity.
The Findhorn, Firth of Forth and Almond catchments remain at Alert.
The rest of the country remains at Early Warning or Normal Conditions.
Situation summary
Despite recent rainfall the river flows remain very low across much of the east of Scotland. Moderate scarcity remains in the Spey, Deveron, Ythan, Don (Aberdeenshire), Dee (Aberdeen), Esk, Firth of Tay and Tyne (Lothian) river catchments. The Findhorn, Firth of Forth and Almond catchments remain at Alert.
The north, south-east and parts of central Scotland remain at Early Warning, as recent rainfall has not been significant enough to enable recovery to normal conditions. Western parts of the country and the Northern Isles remain at normal conditions.
Above-average rainfall is still required for water scarcity levels to recover in the east of the country. The first half of the year in the east of Scotland has been the driest since 1973. These exceptionally dry conditions, following on from a dry autumn and winter last year, have led to the lowest groundwater levels for June on record in Fife and parts of Angus.
What do the map colours mean?
| Normal conditions | Early warning | Alert | Moderate scarcity | Significant scarcity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | Green | Yellow | Orange | Red |
Water scarcity area descriptions
Weather Forecast
Mainly dry for the rest of the week and the weekend, though some mainly light rain will affect the far northwest and Shetland on Thursday. On Monday a chance of some heavy rain or showers crossing from the southwest.
Advice for water users
We advise water users, including those with private water supplies, to be aware of the potential risk of water scarcity this summer, and for businesses to plan ahead where possible. Advice for abstractors and irrigators.
Supporting information
This section goes into more detail on the data behind the water scarcity levels.
Rainfall and river flows
These maps show rainfall and river flows relative to the long-term average, for this time of year, over 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months.
Across Scotland the 30-day average rainfall is mostly at normal conditions, but parts of the northeast remain quite dry while western parts of the country show wet conditions. River flows over the past 30 days continue to display an east to west split across Scotland. Western regions are seeing normal to very high flows, while eastern areas are seeing mostly very low flows.
Rainfall over the last three months also shows an east to west split across Scotland. Western Scotland has seen mainly normal to very wet conditions, while the east remains quite dry to very dry. River flows for the last three months remain extremely low overall in the east, while higher river flows are in the Northern Isles and the west of Scotland.
Rainfall over the past six months show extremely dry to very dry conditions in the east and south of Scotland, with mostly dry to quite dry conditions in the west of the country. River flows across much of the country remain extremely low to very low for the past six months, though low to normal conditions are in the west and the Northern Isles.
What do the map colours mean?
| Rainfall | Extremely dry | Very dry | Dry | Quite dry | Normal conditions | Wet | Very wet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| River flow | Extremely low | Very low | Low | Quite low | Normal conditions | High | Very high |
| Red | Orange | Light orange | Yellow | Green | Light blue | Dark blue |
Soil moisture deficit
This map shows this week’s soil moisture deficit. This is obtained from the Met Office Rainfall and Evaporation Calculation System (MORECS). Ground conditions across the east are very dry or dry. Parts of the north, southeast and central Scotland have quite dry conditions. In the west, ground conditions show no deficit.
What do the map colours mean?
| Extremely dry | Very dry | Dry | Quite dry | No deficit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | Orange | Light orange | Yellow | Green |
Natural water storage – groundwater and loch levels
In each river catchment there is some degree of natural water storage, which can maintain river flows even when it is not raining. This natural water storage is mainly held in lochs and groundwater. When storage has been depleted it will take a lot of rainfall for levels to recover.
The maps below show average groundwater and loch level for June compared to the long-term record at each individual station. Level is reported as high or low compared to the typical (‘normal’) level range for the time of year.
Level ranges are specific to each station and based on the long-term (minimum 10 years) record of mean monthly level values recorded at individual stations.
Despite the recent rainfall, due to the lack of recharge over the autumn and winter, groundwater levels across most of the country remain low to very low for the time of year.
Locations in Fife have recorded their lowest levels for June on record and in its 28 year record the Newton of Falkland borehole has only recorded levels this low once before. The borehole at Murton in Angus has also recorded its lowest level for June in its 18 year record. Without significant rainfall, groundwater levels are expected to continue to fall over the summer.
Based on the June average, loch levels from our monitoring points show very low levels in the northeast of Scotland with loch levels elsewhere between normal and very high.
What do the map colours mean?
| Very high | High | Normal range | Low | Very low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark blue | Light blue | Light green | Light orange | Dark orange |
Flow, rainfall and groundwater data are accessed via SEPA's time series data service (API). SEPA's live data are subject to ongoing quality control and periodic review.
Scottish Water are responsible for public water supply and distribution in Scotland. Scottish Water reports on the raw water stored in these supplies.
Report copyright
- Current water scarcity levels - © SEPA. Some features of this information are based on digital spatial data licensed from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology © NERC (CEH). Contains OS data © Crown copyright (and database right).
- Areas of significant water scarcity - OS Data - © Crown Copyright - SEPA licence number 100016991 (2022)
- Rainfall, river flow, groundwater and loch levels - Base map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
- Soil moisture deficit - Data based on MORECS (Met Office © Crown Copyright). Some features of this information are based on digital spatial data licensed from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology © NERC (CEH). Contains OS data © Crown copyright (and database right). Base map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
- Weather forecast - Crown copyright [2022], Met Office