Scotland’s Water Environment Review 2000-2006

Our environment is important to us. We depend upon it for the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. There is an increasing recognition of the role of our environment as a recreational resource and in supporting biodiversity. It is important to the economic success of our country, and quality of life of its citizens and visitors.

We have come a long way in the last 150 years since the days when sewage pollution was a significant threat to the health of a large proportion of the population. Improvements have been achieved through planning and expenditure on infrastructure carried out at a rate judged to be proportionate to the risks posed and affordability. For the last few decades, another factor determining the rate of improvements has been European legislation, delivered through the implementation of various directives agreed by the European Union as a whole.

With a population continually seeking a better quality of life, and new areas being developed for housing and industry, significant expenditure and work is required just to maintain environmental quality. Most pollution abatement measures have some energy demand and resource cost. A balance must be struck between expenditure made and benefits delivered. This report provides some feedback on overall progress made in respect of our fresh and marine waters.

It is good news that during the last decade or so, sustainable urban drainage schemes (SUDS) have become the norm for new developments in Scotland. SUDS have prevented the further deterioration of many urban watercourses. All too often in the past, improvements in effluent quality have been offset by new problems from urban run-off or unsatisfactory combined sewer overflows elsewhere.

This report focuses on the chemical and biological quality of our water environment. It is on balance a ’good news’ story, but inevitably with some caveats. It shows what has been achieved. Past legislation concentrated on water quality and flood defence rather than physical habitat, so improvements relate to water quality. As illustrated in the forward looking Significant Water Management Issues (SWMI) reports produced recently by SEPA, other things – working with others, engineering and abstraction pressures – are at least as important in determining the overall quality of our aquatic environments.

Good, clean water flowing in a stream piped in a culvert flowing underneath a development has no real environmental value. Open that stream out, with green areas alongside to constrain floods, and it can become a refuge for wildlife and a recreational resource. It is far better if people have a pleasant walkway in their neighbourhood than having to drive to find somewhere more pleasant to take the daily exercise we should all have.

The work and improvements outlined in this report are the culmination of a lot of effort made by many people and organisations, and to which we have all contributed through water charges. I hope you find this backward look interesting and encouraging in respect of what should be delivered in the future. The success of the new River Basin Management Planning system which SEPA and the Scottish Government have put in place as part of the EU Water Framework Directive implementation, will be crucial to maintaining and enhancing Scotland’s water environment.