Highland river catchments included on list of those on ‘alert’ over ‘extremely low’ water levels; Sepa report includes the rivers Shin and Naver in Sutherland, Thurso in Caithness, Conon in Ross-shire and Spey in the Highlands and Moray
Water scarcity alerts have been issued in several Highland river catchments following a drier than normal April in many parts.
The Naver and the Shin, both in Sutherland, had been the only catchments on alert level in Scotland prior to an update by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) on Thursday.
But 15 other river catchments have now joined them on alert status - which sits above "early warning" and below "moderate scarcity" on the scale for water scarcity.
The new additions include the Conon in Ross-shire, Spey, and the River Thurso in Caithness.
All of eastern mainland Scotland is now on “alert” except for the east of Caithness, eastern Sutherland north of Loch Fleet, the River Beauly, River Ness, River Nairn and River Findhorn catchment areas.
However, they, and all other parts of mainland Scotland not at "alert" level, are now sitting at "early warning" status, with the only parts of Scotland still rated at "normal" being the islands of Mull, Coll, Tiree, the Small Isles, Skye, and Raasay.
A Sepa spokesperson said: "April continued to be a dry month for many parts of Scotland, particularly in the east.
“Parts of Aberdeenshire recorded less than a third of the average monthly rainfall for April. Many areas have now experienced prolonged periods of below average rainfall.
“Due to this continued dry weather, the water scarcity situation has deteriorated in many areas. As a result the Conon, Spey, Deveron, Ythan, Don (Aberdeenshire), Dee (Aberdeen), Esk, Firth of Tay, Firth of Forth, Almond, Tyne (Lothian), Tweed, Esk (Dumfriesshire), Annan and Thurso have been raised to alert level. River levels in the Shin and Naver catchments remain extremely low and therefore remain at alert.
"While heavy rain in the Inner Hebrides has resulted in the recovery to normal conditions, Shetland has now been raised to early warning."
They continued: "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."
