Latest news with #Sepa
Scotsman
a day ago
- Climate
- Scotsman
Experts warn water levels could ‘deteriorate quickly' despite recent wet weather
Farmers, distilleries and industry urged not to wait until situation reaches 'crisis point' to start using water more efficiently Sign up to our Scotsman Rural News - A weekly of the Hay's Way tour of Scotland emailed direct to you. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Experts have warned that water levels in many of Scotland's rivers could 'deteriorate quickly' despite recent rainfall, with waterways remaining 'stressed' by months of exceptionally dry weather. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said while rainfall in late May and early June brought relief to parts of the country, it has not been enough to reverse underlying dry conditions. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Eight river catchments – the Spey, Deveron, Ythan, Don, Dee, Esk, Firth of Tay and Tyne – remain at 'Moderate Scarcity', while a further seven – Wick, Helmsdale, Naver, Findhorn, Forth, Almond and Tweed – are at 'Alert' status because of low water levels. People enjoying the warm weather in Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens on Thursday. Temperatures could hit 33C this weekend as parts of the UK bask in a heatwave | PA The agency has called on water abstractors, such as farmers, distilleries and industry, not to wait until the situation reaches 'crisis point' before starting to use water more efficiently. Claire Tunaley, senior hydrologist – water resources unit at Sepa said: 'It won't take a heatwave for river levels to fall again. READ MORE: Scotland rejects climate change committee advice to cut livestock herds by a quarter Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'With summer only just beginning, and rainfall in the east still well below average, conditions could deteriorate quickly. 'Rivers entered summer already stressed after months of below average rainfall, and the kind of brief periods of rain we can get over the summer often don't soak in properly or evenly enough to reverse that. 'Less water in rivers means warmer temperatures, lower oxygen, and shrinking channels, all of which increase pressure on fish, aquatic life, and habitats.' Sepa started issuing water scarcity warnings in March, following an 'exceptionally dry' autumn and winter, and then the second-driest spring in more than a century. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Above-average rainfall needed The body said parts of the country have seen below-average rainfall for over a year, and even where recent rain has brought short-term improvement above-average rainfall is still needed for water scarcity levels to recover in some areas. READ MORE: Rosebank and other North Sea oil and gas fields could be given green light under new guidelines Eilidh Johnston, Sepa's senior manager in water industry and rural economy, said: 'We don't wait until the situation reaches crisis point to act, and we don't expect water users to either. People enjoying the warm weather in Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens | PA 'Many abstractors have already been planning ahead and taking steps to use water efficiently, especially in areas of alert and moderate scarcity. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We've talked to over 400 licence holders across the last few months and welcome the steps that have been taken by farmers, distilleries, industry and others to use water efficiently. We urge them to continue to do that.' She advised anyone with an abstraction licence in an area of moderate scarcity not to be 'concerned' if Sepa get in touch. Ms Johnston continued: 'We're still contacting abstractors where rivers are low to ensure they have all the information they need to make decisions about their water use, and to make sure nothing comes as a surprise if further action becomes necessary.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
'Absolutely honking': More than 2,000 complaints of sewage dumping made in Scotland
The Scottish Lib Dems say the SNP is to blame for the issues plaguing Scotland's waters. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... More than 2,000 complaints of sewage were made to Scotland's environment watchdog in the past three years. Since 2022, 2,081 complaints were made to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), including 196 so far in 2025. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Edinburgh, Lothian and the Borders recorded the highest number of complaints about sewage spills, with 443 in the past three years - 43 were made in the first three months of this year. The issue surrounding sewage was highlighted during First Minister's Questions by Scottish Liberal Democrats There were 268 complaints in south-west Scotland, 265 in Falkirk, Alloa, Stirling and Perth, 327 in Fife, Angus and Dundee, 222 in Greater Glasgow and Clyde Estuary, 199 in Grampian and Speyside, 187 in Argyll, Hebrides and the south Highlands, 168 in Lanarkshire and 75 in the north Highlands and northern isles. Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton lays the blame for this 'honking' problem squarely at the doors of the SNP government, claiming that the publicly-owned Scottish Water is to blame. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Speaking at first minister's questions, he said: 'Sanitary towels and wet wipes on the beach at North Berwick, raw sewage in Gala, a beach covered in thick brown discharge in Dumfries and Galloway, the River Almond making swimmers sick, paddle boarders covered in sewage in the River Tay - today on World Environment Day, the Scottish Lib Dems are publishing new research showing thousands of complaints from members of the public about sewage. 'Sewage that is, I quote, 'absolutely honking' in Dingwall. 'Songs were written about Scotland being the land of the shining river. 'Does the First Minister mind that his government's own water company is dumping so much sewage into them?' Alex Cole-Hamilton is MSP for Edinburgh Western Mr Swinney disputed this, saying 87 per cent of Scotland's water had been assessed as 'high' or 'good' quality by Sepa, which is an increase from 82 per cent in 2014. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Cole-Hamilton then highlighted that Thames Water in England had recently been fined £100 million for sewage dumping, but said there were 'never any consequences' for this in Scotland. He asked: 'Is that because the First Minister knows it is actually his government that's at fault for this absolutely honking problem?' In response, Mr Swinney said: 'What's absolutely honking is Mr Cole-Hamilton's attempt to conflate the situation in Scotland and the operation of one of the strongest assets in our country, the publicly-owned water network, with Thames Water. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The privatisation of water in England has been an unmitigated disaster for people in England and Wales and I thank our predecessors for not taking such a foolish decision in the first place.
The Star
05-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Environmentalists propose Japanese tech to eliminate smells at wet market
Yee and his team visiting the KK Central Market. KOTA KINABALU: Environmentalists are proposing the use of Japanese microorganism technology to eliminate persistent odours at wet markets here. The proposal, raised by the Sabah Environmental Protection Association (Sepa), has been submitted to the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, along with a plan to test the technology at the Central Market here for three months. Sepa president Alexander Yee said the initiative would be a valuable opportunity to work with the ministry to improve hygiene and cleanliness at the market. The move followed a courtesy call by the association to minister Datuk Seri Christina Liew in April. "We were encouraged by the minister to play a proactive role in maintaining cleanliness in the state capital in anticipation of Visit Malaysia Year 2026. 'So, I led a team of exco members to visit several sites including the KK Central Market, before proposing any possible solutions," Yee said. He said that as a high tourist concentration area, the market and its surrounding destinations should be kept clean and presentable.
Press and Journal
03-06-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Cash-strapped council pushed to AXE £3m Denburn restoration after grant snub
Planning chiefs are pushing for the £3 million restoration of Aberdeen's Denburn to be 'paused indefinitely' after they were refused a crucial grant. The restoration project was launched two years ago to make the ancient stream and surrounding wetland habitat more accessible to residents. Under the plans, the 1.5 mile stretch from the Den of Maidencraig nature reserve to King's Gate in the west of the city would have been enhanced. It was also proposed to re-meander the Denburn and create new footpaths for visitors to stroll along. And for the last two years, council leaders have been trying to work out how to fund the project – securing extra support from Sepa and Nestrans. But now, planning officials are recommending the project is kicked in the long grass after they were denied a £1.5m grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The local authority has already secured some promises of cash to help bring the project to fruition. Sepa pledged to pay up to £950,000 through its Water Environment Fund, however, this funding is time-limited and would be lost if the project is delayed. This is on top of another £250,000 which they gave the council for the designs. Money was also secured from Nestrans and bus lane fines for the new path works, which will also only be awarded if the proposal moves forward. However, planning chief David Dunne explains that if they don't find the remaining money needed to complete the project by September, they will have to refund it all. The whole scheme is estimated to cost around £3m – nearly a million more than initially expected. After securing the first batches of cash and joining with Sepa to develop the project, city chiefs were tasked with finding external sources for the final piece of the puzzle. The National Lottery Heritage Fund was found as the best match and the application was submitted in November – but refused just a few months later. Lottery bosses explained they preferred to give the cash to other projects and suggested the Denburn one would benefit from more financial support from the council instead. And now Mr Dunne has advised that it would be wise to shelve the project until they find other avenues to fund. This is one of four options drawn up by his planning team, which also include moving forward as planned despite the grant snub and scrapping the restoration altogether. In his report, he writes: 'The Den Burn Restoration Project is an active project with SEPA and is prioritised for funding with them. 'Pausing the project indefinitely will very significantly raise the risk of losing this existing external funding. 'However, there appear no other choices in the absence of match funding.' Members of the local authority's net zero, environment and transport committee will discuss the Denburn project when they meet next week.
The National
23-05-2025
- Climate
- The National
Scotland weather to change as 'heavy' rains break long dry spell
The Met Office's rain radar shows that the wet weather front is due to make landfall in the Hebrides at around 3-4pm on Friday. The rain will then continue to move east, bringing rain onto the mainland later in Friday evening and Saturday. The changing weather will come as a relief following a period of water scarcity that has hit every part of Scotland. Here's how Friday is shaping up weather wise ⬇️ — Met Office (@metoffice) May 22, 2025 Alex Deakin, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: 'The weather patterns are changing just in time for the Bank Holiday weekend. 'It's going to be a messy one, with some welcomed rain, certainly welcomed by many gardeners and farmers, but there'll still be some sunny spells to be had.' Deakin said that the 'first set of weather fronts' would cross the country on Friday night and may be 'heavy for a time'. He said that western Scotland would see heavy, frequent showers, with 'even the chance of the odd rumble of thunder', but that the rain should clear out into the North Sea into Saturday. The Met Office expert further said that an area of low pressure was now sitting north of Britain – where high pressure had been for the past month. He explained: 'The jet stream is becoming a little more energised, not especially strong, but strong enough to pick up this low and send it just to the north of the UK. READ MORE: River Spey at lowest May flow since 1952 as 17 areas at 'moderate water scarcity' 'That will bring a spell of wet weather and some strong winds across the far northwest during Sunday, and further weather fronts with a reasonably active jet stream to follow on behind for Monday.' Although the rain will be a change, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has said that a prolonged spell of wetter weather will be needed to replenish low water levels. Sepa said on Thursday evening that some parts of Fife have seen 'no measurable rainfall' for more than a month, and the ongoing dry spell has seen many of Scotland's rivers fall to 'record lows'. Sepa there is a 'clear' environmental impact from the lack of water, and 'action is expected from abstractors (such as agriculture and industry) to protect rivers and the species that rely on them'. Eilidh Johnston, Sepa's senior manager in water industry and rural economy, warned the agency may have to take 'measures' to restrict water use if the dry weather continues. 'A few days of rain will not undo months of drier than average weather,' she said. 'We need well above average rainfall over a sustained period to see any recovery, especially in the east. 'It has been the driest start to a year in Scotland since 1964. Fife has had no significant rain for over a month and groundwater levels are some of the lowest on record for the time of year. So, we're seeing some quite significant issues coming. 'I'm urging anyone who has a licence from Sepa to take water from the environment to ensure you are doing everything you can to use water efficiently. 'If the weather continues without significant additional rain, we'll have to take measures to reduce the amount of water that can be taken from the environment. 'The steps you take now are very important in delaying that action.' The agency has also warned of environmental risks from the first heavy rainfall following a dry spell, due to the water washing pollutants from roads and land into rivers. The agency explained this can create a 'short-term shock' to ecosystems, which it said is a 'known risk' for fish deaths. It appealed to anyone concerned about a 'fish kill' to report it to Sepa as soon as possible so they can ensure there is no ongoing pollution incident. Scottish Water earlier issued a statement thanking Scots for saving 60 million litres of water a day, which it said was helping the company 'protect resources and maintain normal supplies across the country'. Kes Juskowiak, a Scottish Water director, said: 'We'd like to say a massive thank-you to everyone who has helped reduce water demand by using what is a precious resource as efficiently as possible, but we need customers to continue their support and to take whatever measures they can to do so. 'The system remains under significant pressure and so we'd like to encourage everyone to continue to use Scotland's water as efficiently as possible.'
