RECENT rainfall has eased water scarcity in parts of Scotland but several areas remain under significant pressure , while England and Wales have declared official droughts.
Prolonged dry conditions mean rivers across much of eastern Scotland remain under significant pressure, with four catchments continuing to experience "significant scarcity".
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency's (Sepa) latest weekly water scarcity report shows that the Lunan Water, Lower Don, North Fife and Fife East Neuk remain in significant scarcity – and if river flows remain exceptionally low, Tay Estuary North, the River Teviot and Ettrick Water could also move to this level over the coming week.
Improvement have been seen in the south and west of the country, with the Lower Tweed, Whiteadder Water and Berwickshire Coastal catchments in the Scottish Borders moved from significant to moderate scarcity.
Doon, Irvine and Ayr have improved to early warning, while Argyll Coast, Loch Linnhe and Lochy (Inverness-shire) have returned to normal conditions.
However, conditions continue to deteriorate elsewhere. The Spey, Ythan and Dee (Aberdeen) have moved to "moderate", while the Forth has moved to "alert".
Although rain is forecast over the coming days, Sepa have said is too early to know whether it will provide enough sustained rainfall to restore river flows in the catchments currently under pressure.
Shona McConnell, Sepa's head of compliance, said: "Recent rainfall has brought welcome improvements in some parts of Scotland. However, many rivers, particularly across eastern Scotland, continue to experience the impacts of prolonged dry weather, with some recording exceptionally low flows for the time of year.
“It’s encouraging to see improvements in some catchments, but recovery does not happen overnight. A river’s level may improve enough to move out of significant water scarcity while the wider catchment remains under pressure.
“Even though we’ve seen some rain, it doesn’t always reach the areas that need it most, and even when it does it may not be enough to restore river flows after a prolonged dry period. How rivers respond depends on the right amount of rain, in the right place, at the right time."
The warning comes while the whole of Wales is now in drought, as the UK struggles with extreme heat, wildfires and dry conditions that experts warn may linger until the autumn.
The UK has endured its fourth heatwave of the summer, with temperatures topping 35C, as health authorities warned England is on track this year for the highest number of deaths caused by such hot spells since current figures began.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has extended its drought declaration – which was declared for North Wales and the Upper Severn last week – to cover the whole of the country, after very little rainfall and sustained high temperatures.
Wales has received just 8% of its long-term average rainfall for July, and the country is on course to have its driest July since records began 190 years ago, NRW said.
Half of England is officially in drought, despite a very wet winter, as an extremely dry July compounded a dry spring, and the successive heatwaves have put pressure on water resources.
