Introduction to the Forth area management plan

Purpose

The purpose of the Forth area management plan is to maintain and improve the ecological status of the rivers, lochs, estuaries, coastal waters and groundwaters in the Forth advisory group area (Map 1). This plan supplements the river basin management plan for the Scotland river basin district and will help to deliver Water Framework Directive requirements. It focuses on local actions for the Forth advisory group area and highlights the opportunities for partnership working to ensure that we all benefit from improvements to the water environment. 

The plan has been produced in partnership with members of the Forth Area Advisory Group. The advisory group expects river basin planning to maintain and improve water quality and water habitats within the area, to contribute to flood management and to help us adapt to the effects of climate change. This plan will run from 2010 to 2015, when it will be reviewed and the next six year cycle of planning will begin.

In 2008, only 26% of water bodies in the Forth advisory group area were classified as being at good or high ecological status or potential. In general, the classification of surface water bodies describes by how much their condition (“status”) differs from near-natural conditions. Water bodies in a near-natural condition are at high ecological status while those whose ecological quality has been severely damaged are at bad ecological status. The classification of heavily modified and artificial water bodies, such as canals, describes their ecological potential. This is a measure of the extent to which the ecological quality of the water body has been maximised given the limits imposed by the physical and hydrological modifications necessary for its uses.

This plan aims to prevent a deterioration in ecological status and, more ambitiously, to improve those currently at less than good ecological status, so that by 2027 96% of water bodies will achieve good or high ecological status or potential. The planned improvement targets until 2027 are set out in Table 1.

Table 1: Overview of planned improvements in the Forth advisory group area, 2010–2027

 

2008

2015

2021

2027

% of surface water bodies at good (or high) ecological status/potential

22%

32%

45%

98%

% of groundwaters at good status

59%

69%

72%

83%

% of all water bodies at good (or high) ecological status/potential

26%

36%

48%

96%

 

What area does this plan cover?

The Forth advisory group area includes all the land that drains into the rivers Leven, Devon, Forth, Carron, Avon, Almond, Esk, Tyne and the Allan Water, Water of Leith and Eye Water, plus the adjacent estuarine and coastal waters out to three nautical miles (Map 1). It is an extensive and varied area, extending from Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park through Stirling, Falkirk, Clackmannanshire, Fife, the Lothians, and down into the Borders. In addition to surface waters, the Water Framework Directive also requires us to consider groundwater, which lies beneath the ground surface and provides part of the flow in many rivers.


 

Map 1: Forth advisory group area (showing main catchments) (click for larger image)

Who is this plan for?

This plan is for the Forth 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 designed to provide a co-ordinated approach to the delivery of the River basin management plan for the Scotland river basin district within the Forth 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, national scale. The plan for the Scotland river basin district also includes a number of chapters that explain the different parts of the river basin planning process.

The organisations that are part of the Forth area advisory group have a responsibility to share the information contained in the plan with a wider range of stakeholders, in order to encourage them to implement the actions that are required in the Forth 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 report, 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.

How to use the Forth area management plan

This plan has three key components:

  1. Area management plan summary (this document) provides an overview of the Forth advisory group area including classification, pressures, objectives, key measures and an outline of the key areas of work for the Forth area advisory group.
  2. Catchment profiles provide information on classification, pressures, measures and objectives for each catchment. They also highlight gaps where we need to develop measures. The catchment profiles will be produced by December 2010, updated regularly and kept as live documents during this first river basin planning cycle.

    The following catchments are in the Forth advisory group area.

    Allan Water
    Berwick coastal         
    East Lothian Coastal
    Edinburgh coastal                  
    Eye Water                  
    Forth Estuary (South) Coastal
    River Avon                              
    River Almond             
    River Carron
    River Devon               
    River Esk                   
    River Forth
    River Leven                
    River Tyne                  
    Forth Estuary and Firth of Forth
    South Fife coastal      
    Stirling coastal           
    Water of Leith

    In the catchment profiles, coastal and transitional water bodies are discussed together with their neighbouring land catchments.
  3. Action plan with information about how the Forth Area Advisory Group will work together to deliver the objectives outlined in the district plan and provide a record of where new actions are being developed. This will be a live document and regularly updated during the first river basin planning cycle.

The catchment profiles and action plan will be published on SEPA’s website when they are complete.