Scottish watchdog issues first Water Scarcity Report for 2024

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has issued its first Water Scarcity Report of 2024, which identifies two areas at risk arising from lower than average rainfall.

The regulator highlighted that while current conditions remain normal across most of the country following a wet winter and early spring, the northwest Highlands and Inner Hebrides had been raised to "early warning" status for water scarcity due to low rainfall.

Senior hydrologist at SEPA, Stephen McGuire, said: “It would be easy to look at the amount of rain Scotland has seen over the winter and early spring and think that water scarcity isn’t an issue. The risk is currently low as a result, but the reality is the situation can change very quickly should we have drier than average conditions over the summer.”