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Water scarcity report - 20 August 2026

This week’s key changes

• New areas raised to Significant Scarcity: Dee (Galloway) and Urr Water

• Areas with improved water scarcity level: Conon (Normal Conditions), Cree (Early Warning)

Map and water scarcity levels

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 - Heavy thundery rainfall fell on Wednesday which led to localised improvements in some catchments, but further rainfall will be needed for more widespread recovery. Longer-term rainfall conditions remain drier across much of eastern Scotland, while the west and north have generally been wetter.

• River flows - River flows remain low to very low across much of the country, particularly in eastern Scotland.  Ancrum on the Teviot experienced it's 5th lowest flow in a 53 year record earlier in August. Dalbeattie on the Urr Water in Dumfries has experienced the greatest number of low flow days in 20 years.  Higher flows are generally confined to the west and north, while many east coast rivers continue to experience prolonged periods of low flow. 

• Soil/ground conditions - Ground conditions remain dry to very dry across much of eastern Scotland, particularly along the east coast and in parts of the north-east. Elsewhere, conditions are generally normal to quite dry.

• Groundwater and loch levels - Groundwater levels in central Fife are very low for the time of year. Elsewhere in eastern Scotland, levels are low or very low. In other areas levels remain normal or above.

Read in more detail our hydrological overview of the current conditions below.

Weather forecast

Mostly dry on Friday but a few light showers in the south and east. Dry for most again on Saturday but some light showers in the north and northwest. Mostly dry start on Sunday then some showers in the afternoon. Dry on Monday.

© Crown copyright [2026], Met Office

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

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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 mostly normal across much of the country, although parts of the east have been quite dry to dry. The most widespread dry conditions have been in the south-east, where conditions have generally ranged from dry to extremely dry. Recent river flows have been widely very low, although normal to high flows persist across much of the west and in the Northern Isles.

Over the past three months, rainfall conditions have generally been dry to very dry across much of eastern Scotland, the Central Belt and southern Scotland. In contrast, the west and north have generally experienced normal to wet conditions. River flows have remained very low across much of eastern Scotland, while the west and north have generally seen flows ranging from normal to very high.

Over the past six months, rainfall conditions have been largely dry to very dry across Moray, Speyside and much of the east coast, with extremely dry conditions mainly confined to Moray. Conditions in the south-west have been more mixed, while much of western and northern Scotland has experienced normal conditions, with wetter conditions in the north-west and Northern Isles. River flows have been very low across many eastern catchments, with some extremely low flows around the Moray coast. 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

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. 

Recorded groundwater levels in central Fife are very low for the time of year. In the 30 year monitoring record at the Newton of Falkland borehole, June levels have only been lower twice before (2025 and 2006). Elsewhere in the East of Scotland groundwater levels are low or very low. In all other areas, levels remain normal or above.

Loch levels show a mixed picture, with most sites normal to very high levels. However, Lochindorb, to the east of Inverness, has a very 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