Water scarcity report - 10 September 2026
New areas at Significant Scarcity, as low river flows persist in the east.
This week’s key changes
New areas reaching Significant Scarcity: Stonehaven, North Esk, Fife (East Neuk), North Fife
Areas recovered from Significant Scarcity: Upper Tweed, Mid Tweed and Lauderdale
Areas recovering to Alert: Earn, Almond, Dee (Galloway); Normal Conditions: Nith, Clyde
Map and water scarcity levels
What do the map colours mean?
Water scarcity level | Region/Area(s) |
|---|---|
Red Significant Scarcity | Stonehaven, North Esk, Fife (East Neuk), North Fife SEPA have issued temporary restrictions on some licences to abstract water from the environment in the areas that have reached Significant Scarcity. For further information see Significant water scarcity guidance. You can monitor this on the Drought Risk Assessment Tool. |
Orange Moderate Scarcity | Dee (Aberdeen), Esk (Angus), Firth of Tay, Firth of Forth, Tyne (Lothian), Tweed |
Yellow Alert | Findhorn, Deveron, Ythan, Don (Aberdeenshire), Earn, Almond, Esk (Dumfriesshire), Dee (Galloway) |
Green Early Warning | Spey, Tay, Forth, Annan, Cree, Shetland |
Blue Normal Conditions | The rest of the country |
Use the drought risk assessment tool to explore conditions through our interactive map. This tool shows the number of days that river flows have been very low and is used to help identify areas at greater risk of long-term ecological impacts. When river flows have been very low for 30 or more days, Significant Scarcity is reached. Data is updated daily at 0930 GMT / 1030 BST.
Conditions overview
Rainfall - Significant further rain will be needed for widespread recovery, particularly in the east where, for example, areas of Fife have received below-average rainfall since March. The past week has seen some rain which has promoted partial recovery in the Earn, Almond, Dee (Galloway).
River flows - Very low flows persist in the east. Very low flows over an extended period have caused Fife (East Neuk), North Fife, North Esk and Stonehaven to reach Significant Scarcity. Earlier this summer, Kemback gauging station, on the River Eden in North Fife, experienced its second-lowest flow in a 60-year record.
Soil/ground conditions - Ground conditions remain dry in the east.
Groundwater and loch levels - Groundwater levels in eastern Scotland remain very low for the time of year. In other areas levels remain normal or above.
Read in more detail our hydrological overview of the current conditions below.
Weather forecast
Mainly dry on Friday. Heavy rain in parts of the west and southwest on Saturday, becoming drier later. Mainly dry Sunday then further rain on Monday.
Advice for water users
Everyone should plan to increase their resilience to the impacts of prolonged dry conditions. By taking the right steps now, it could help reduce the impact of water scarcity in the future. For further information visit 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.
Recent rainfall conditions have been generally normal across most of the country, though quite dry to dry in parts of the east and south and Shetland. Recent river flows have been widely very low, although normal to high flows have occurred across much of the north-west and Orkney.
Over the past three months, rainfall conditions have generally been dry to very dry across much of eastern and southern Scotland. In contrast, the west and north have generally seen normal to very wet conditions. River flows have remained very low across much of eastern Scotland, with quite low flows in the south, while the west and north have seen normal to very high flows.
Over the past six months, rainfall conditions have been dry to extremely dry across much of the east of Scotland and in parts of the south-west, while the north-west, Orkney and Shetland have experienced wetter conditions. River flows have been very low to extremely low across many eastern catchments and the Central Belt, though elsewhere flows have generally ranged from normal to very high.
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
Please note, due to an issue with the delivery of this data, this map shows last week’s soil moisture deficit. Data should be updated next week. This is obtained from the Met Office Rainfall and Evaporation Calculation System (MORECS).
Ground conditions remain dry to very dry across much of eastern Scotland. Elsewhere, conditions are generally normal to quite dry.
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 recent groundwater and loch level 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. The maps are updated on the first full week of the month.
Despite the recent rainfall, groundwater levels remain low across much of the country. In central Fife levels remain very low for the time of year. In the 30 year monitoring record at the Newton of Falkland borehole August levels were only lower in 2006 and 2025. Monitoring boreholes in Aberdeenshire, Angus and East Lothian were also at very low levels for August. In Dumfries and Northern Scotland levels are generally within the normal range seen at this time of year.
Loch levels show a mixed picture, with most sites normal to high levels. However, Lochindorb, to the east of Inverness, has a low level.
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