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Watery walks lead the way to better water quality for the Borders

17 May 2010

EXT01 – B01

Every journey starts with a few steps and the next few months will see environmental experts walking the land around key rivers and burns in the Eye Water, as well as those which drain to Pease Bay.

Staff from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) will be walking sections of rivers and burns in the Eye Water, as well as those which drain to Pease Bay, collecting information and assessing the impacts of rural diffuse pollution. The work is an essential part of ensuring that Scotland's water quality continues to improve and meet improvement targets set for 2015 in Scotland's River Basin Management Plan.

This carries on from previous work carried out in 2008 when the majority of the watercourses in the Eye Water catchment were walked to identify areas where diffuse pollution could impact on the water quality of the Eye Water and the bathing water quality at Eyemouth Beach. 

The Eye Water catchment (along with the watercourses which drain to Pease Bay) is one of 14 Scottish catchments that have been prioritised for work between now and 2015. Diffuse pollution, often driven by rainfall, results in water becoming contaminated with solids and other detritus, nutrients, bacteria, pathogenic organisms and chemicals running off land into the local water environment. This is a major contributor to poor river water quality and has a detrimental affect on the condition of local beaches, as well as impacting on ecology.

SEPA has appointed Priority Catchment Officers to coordinate work in each area. Once complete a series of workshops and information events will be arranged to explain the findings to local landowners and partner organisations. SEPA will then continue to work with them, as well as with Scottish Government, SNH, NFUS, Scottish Water and other partner organisations, to identify what actions are needed to improve water quality and protect the environment in the Eye Water/Pease Bay catchments.

Angela Foss, Borders Unit Manager for SEPA, said:

"Most local land managers will be aware of the work already carried out by SEPA in the Eye Water catchment and SEPA acknowledge that a number of remedial actions have already been carried out by the agricultural community and others to reduce diffuse pollution in the catchment."   

"Work to tackle rural diffuse pollution within the Eye Water/Pease Bay catchment cannot be completed without help from the community. We need the continued support of local land managers to deal with diffuse pollution issues and hope that a plan to work on the issues facing each catchment can be developed. This isn't about SEPA dictating what needs to be done to sort out the problem, it's about working together with the people that live and work in the area, and we are looking for their support in achieving environmental improvements to water quality and public health."

"We hope that any land managers meeting our staff walking the catchments during May and June will allow them to do so, as well as taking the opportunity to tell us about any water issues that concern them. SEPA will be taking steps to ensure that we communicate our priority catchment work with all those involved to help us stop rural diffuse pollution being an issue in the Eye Water/Pease Bay catchment."

Jonathan Hall, Head of Rural Policy for NFUS, said:

"Managing water quality is as much about land management as everything else put together, with 5.6 million hectares of Scottish land under agricultural management. This means that Scotland's farmers carry a huge responsibility to ensure that the water environment is of the highest quality in every aspect and that is a challenge that they continue to rise to.

"Clear and concise guidance on measures that can be taken to minimise diffuse water pollution and improve input efficiency will benefit both the water environment and farm business performance. Tackling the key issues will need a new approach, and this kind of relationship is currently being fostered by SEPA and NFU Scotland working together."

Further information on rural diffuse priority catchments is available at www.sepa.org.uk/water/river_basin_planning/dp_priority_catchments.aspx.

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