Groundwater and Engineering

Introduction

If inappropriately located or inadequately controlled, engineering activities can have an adverse impact on both the quality and quantity of groundwater and dependent ecosystems and surface water features.

Legislation

The main legislation relating to engineering and groundwater are listed below:

• Groundwater Directive
  
  
• Water Framework Directive
  
  
• Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997
  
  
• Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003
  
  
• Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 1999
  
  
• Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005
  
  

Guidance

Below is a list of some guidance that relates to groundwater and engineering in Scotland.

• PAN 50: Controlling the environmental effects of surface mineral workings. Scottish Executive
  
  
• NetRegs: Guiding small businesses through Environmental Regulation. Construction Sector Guidelines.
  

Code of Practice

• Code of Practice for the Owners and Operators of Quarries and other Mineral Extraction Sites

Other Information

• Evaluating the Potential Impact of Opencast Coal Mining on Water Quality (Groundwater Regulations 1998): An Assessment Framework for Scotland
  (1.7mb pdf)
  
  An R&D project was carried out for SEPA by NuWater and the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in March 2004 to produce an assessment framework to assess the impact of opencast coal mining on water quality. SEPA intends to use this document to support the production of guidance on this issue in the future