Foreword

Water is a valuable resource. We all make use of it everyday in our homes or at work; many of us enjoy spending time alongside lochs, rivers and coasts. Solway Tweed is located largely in the Scottish borders region, and straddles the border between Scotland and England (although most of the river basin district(RBD) is located in Scotland). The economy of Solway Tweed depends on good quality water as a material input, to irrigate crops, to cool industrial processes and to dilute and carry wastes away. The enjoyment of good quality, clean, water is one of the reasons why so many tourists are attracted to spend their leisure time in the region.

Over the coming years, important decisions are going to be made about how we protect and improve the water resources we have. This will result from the implementation of the Water Framework Directive which was transposed into Scottish law by the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act of 2003. It established new and better ways of protecting, improving and using Europe’s rivers, lochs, estuaries, coasts and groundwater.

In the pages that follow, we set out some important information about the ways in which water contributes to the economy that will help to inform those decisions. We have worked hard during the last two years to collect information that is informative and useful to stakeholders and decision makers. However, there is still much to be done in order to provide a comprehensive picture of the economic aspects of water use in Solway Tweed and further work is planned in the years ahead.

Throughout this document you will see references and electronic links to research reports and papers that have been produced in the course of carrying out this work. These provide more detail and technical information that you may find helpful. We will continue to collect and present information as it becomes available.

The work has been undertaken in consultation with Economics Stakeholder Groups in both Scotland and England who have provided SEPA and DEFRA with advice on the development of this report and the research projects upon which it is based. An important component of the report is the annex providing sector specific reports authored by these stakeholders.

SEPA is grateful for the input of stakeholders to the process. We intend to continue this participative approach throughout our work on the Directive as we monitor, assess, plan and take action to improve the water environment.