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Introduction to the Argyll and Lochaber area management plan

Purpose

The Argyll and Lochaber area management plan aims to maintain and improve the quality of the rivers, lochs, estuaries, coastal waters and groundwaters in the area (shown on Map 1). This plan supplements the river basin management plan (RBMP) for the Scotland river basin district and will help to deliver Water Framework Directive requirements of improving all water bodies to good ecological status and preventing any deterioration. The river basin planning process must link to, and reflect the requirements of, other plans and processes including flood management and climate change. Further detail can be found in Chapter 3 of the river basin management plan for the Scotland river basin district. Such links will also be made at a local level, but are not discussed in detail here.

The Argyll and Lochaber area management plan, which has been produced in partnership with Argyll and Lochaber Area Advisory Group members, focuses on local actions and highlights the opportunities for partnership working to ensure that we all benefit from improvements to the water environment. The advisory group expect river basin planning to maintain and improve water quality and water habitats in the area, including more native plants and animals living in natural habitats along water edges. This plan will run from 2009 to 2015, after which it will be reviewed and the next six year cycle of planning will begin.

The current condition of the environment section (page 8) gives more information how ecological status is measured and targets set, but in 2008, the majority – almost three quarters – of all water bodies in the Argyll and Lochaber advisory group area were classified as being at good or high ecological status/potential. This is a key requirement for many of the economically important activities of the area such as angling, whisky production, fin fish and shellfish farming, water based recreation and tourism. Environmental quality is also reflected in the high number of sites designated to protect key features such as shellfish growing, freshwater fish, bathing waters, drinking waters and nature conservation.

This plan aims to maintain this positive position by protecting the water bodies at good and high ecological status/potential, preventing deterioration in all water bodies and securing continuous improvement in those that are currently at less than good ecological status/potential. The planned improvement targets until 2027 are set out in Table 1.

The number of water bodies at high or good ecological status/potential in Table 1 is higher than in the draft area management plan published in December 2008. This is because since then we have gathered more improved data and have had been able to make fewer assumptions about water body status, giving a better and more accurate picture. For further information on the 4% of water bodies which will not reach good or high ecological potential/status by 2027, please see Tables 4 and 5 later in this document.

What area does this plan cover?

The Argyll and Lochaber advisory group area (Map 1) extends to the north into Lochaber as far as Loch Lochy, south to include the Mull of Kintyre and to the western seaboard including the Islands of Mull, Coll, Tiree, Jura, Islay, Colonsay, Gigha and the smaller islands in the area. It also includes the coastal and transitional waters adjacent to this area out to three nautical miles as well as groundwater, which provides flow in many rivers. The area covers over 18,611 km² and is extremely varied in terms of landscape, geography, population, land use and the range of uses of the water environment. The Cowal Peninsula and the Isle of Bute are covered by the Clyde area management plan.

The following catchments are in the Argyll and Lochaber area.
 

Each coastal catchment consists of a series of freshwater water bodies that drain catchments with an area of less than 100 km²; catchments which are larger than 100 km² (eg the River Lochy catchment) are identified separately.

The sea surrounding the islands and the coast are separate water bodies. There are 73 coastal water bodies and three transitional water bodies in Argyll and Lochaber which are not part of a catchment. So for example, the Island of Mull coastal catchment includes the freshwater water bodies on Mull but the Sound of Mull is a separate coastal water body. In the catchment summaries coastal and transitional water bodies are discussed with their neighbouring land catchments.

Map 1: Argyll and Lochaber advisory group area showing main catchments (click for larger image)
 

How to use the Argyll and Lochaber area management plan

This plan is for the Argyll and Lochaber Area Advisory Group and:

• anyone who manages or uses the water environment;
• anyone who manages activities on land that interacts with the water environment;
• anyone who wants to know more about how our water environment is being protected.

This plan is to co-ordinate the delivery of the river basin management plan for the Scotland river basin district within the Argyll and Lochaber advisory group area. You may find it helpful to see how the aims and objectives of this area management plan will contribute to what we are trying to achieve on a larger, Scotland river basin district scale. The Scotland river basin management plan also includes chapters explaining the different parts of the river basin planning process.

This plan has three key components which are all available on the SEPA website.

1. Area management plan summary (this document) is an overview of the Argyll and Lochaber advisory group area including classification, pressures, objectives, key measures and an outline of the work plan for the Argyll and Lochaber Area Advisory Group for the next year.
   
2. Catchment profiles provide information on classification, pressures, measures and objectives for each catchment and the neighbouring coastal and transitional water bodies. They will be kept as live documents during this first river basin planning cycle.
   
3. Action plan with information about how the Area Advisory Group will work together to deliver the area management plan and a record of where new actions are being developed. This will also be kept as a live document during the first river basin planning cycle.

The environmental quality and natural characteristics of surface waters and groundwater vary widely. To reflect this variation SEPA has divided the water environment into water bodies. Detailed information for individual water bodies (whether they are part of the coast, groundwater, rivers, lochs or estuaries) is held in the web-based interactive map available on the SEPA website. 

The organisations that are part of the Argyll and Lochaber Area Advisory Group helped to develop this plan. The advisory group is responsible for sharing the information contained in this plan with a wider range of stakeholders to encourage them to implement the actions required in the Argyll and Lochaber advisory group area. SEPA’s role in the development of the plan has been to provide information, particularly with regard to classification, and to co-ordinate information and input from others. In this document ‘we’ refers to all those involved in the production of this plan, not just SEPA.

A wider forum has also been established. The forum is open to the public and provides an opportunity for a wider group of stakeholders to be involved in river basin planning developments.