Review shows that Scotland’s water quality is improving
Water quality in Scotland is good and continues to improve. That's according to the recently published Scotland’s Water Environment Review 2000-2006 featuring water quality classification data that illustrates historical trends stretching back over the past six years.
The review, which has been published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), is a valuable source of environmental water data and charts the results and outcomes of SEPA’s monitoring and classification of Scotland’s rivers, estuaries, coasts and lochs.
“In 2000 SEPA set itself targets for reducing water pollution levels by 2006”, said Brian Cowan, SEPA’s Senior Environmental Quality Officer. “The assessment of water quality and trends is a substantial task and an important indication of the health of the water environment. The information in the report is based on monitoring from over 4,000 riverine sites, around 1,500 coastal and transitional sites, 200 lochs and over 250 groundwater sites across Scotland.”
The year-on-year fluctuations caused by uncontrollable factors such as rainfall do not mask the overall long-term improvements in the water environment that can be attributed to a range of factors including:
o investment in new sewage treatment schemes and improved sewerage infrastructure;o improved levels of effluent treatment by industrial operators;
o continuing work by SEPA and others to minimise diffuse pollution from agricultural and urban sources;
o implementation of new legislation;
o increasing public awareness and reporting of pollution incidents.
“Much remains to be done to bring the quality of all waters up to desired standards. The requirements of new European legislation will mean controls and regulations for abstractions and engineering works that impact on ecological quality; activities which have not previously been subject to direct regulation.”
