Introduction to the North Highland area management plan

Purpose of this plan

This plan sets out where action needs to be taken to maintain the current good quality of the rivers, lochs, estuaries, coastal waters and groundwater areas in North Highland, and where improvements still need to be made. It is a local action plan which supplements the river basin management plan for the Scotland river basin district and will help to deliver Water Framework Directive objectives.

The river basin planning process has to link with, and reflect the requirements of, other plans and processes. These include strategies developed for 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 pdf link. These links will also be made at a local level, but are not discussed in detail here.

This plan, which has been produced in partnership with the North Highland Area Advisory Group, focuses on local actions for North Highland and highlights the opportunities for partnership working to ensure that we all benefit from improvements to the water environment. This plan runs from 2010 to 2015, when it will be reviewed and the next six year cycle of planning will begin.

Ecological status is divided into five classes: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. This encompasses the spectrum from water bodies in a near natural condition which are at high ecological status, to those whose ecological quality has been severely damaged and which are at bad ecological status. Water bodies which have been significantly altered for human uses (such as for hydropower generation), are known as heavily modified water bodies (HMWBs). They are classified according to the same spectrum of five classes, but by ecological potential instead of status. This is a measure of the extent to which each water body’s ecological quality has been maximised, given the limits imposed by the physical modifications necessary for its use. The same assessment applies to artificial water bodies such as canals.

In 2008, 75% of all water bodies in North Highland were classified as being at good or high ecological status or potential. This plan sets out targets for improvement in North Highland and actions that will prevent deterioration in the water environment and secure improvement where it is less than good ecological status or potential.

North Highland is an area of diverse landscape and ecology, which is reflected in the water environment and how it is used. It contains long river systems used for salmon and trout fishing and the production of hydroelectricity, together with the flatter, more fertile areas of Caithness that are farmed for livestock, and the inner Moray Firth which is used for arable farming. The water environment supplies settlements with drinking water and facilitates the disposal of domestic and trade effluent.

This plan describes how the majority of the water environment in North Highland is of good quality, which 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 important features such as shellfish growing, freshwater fish, bathing waters, drinking waters and nature conservation.

What area does this plan cover?

The North Highland advisory group area (see Map 1) covers the area that drains to the north and east from Cape Wrath in the far north west of the Scottish mainland to the River Lossie catchment just east of Elgin. The area includes the three large catchments draining into the Dornoch, Cromarty and Beauly Firths, plus estuarine and coastal waters adjacent to the area out to three nautical miles. It also includes groundwater which provides flow in many rivers.

The classification process assesses the current condition of all water bodies over a certain size (rivers with a catchment area of more than 10 km2 and lochs which have a surface area greater than 0.5 km2) and all estuaries and coastal water bodies. These are referred to as baseline water bodies. River and lochs which are smaller than the size threshold (small water bodies) are not classified. However, actions that partners are taking to protect or improve any aspect of the water environment are of interest to the Area Advisory Group.

Map 1: North Highland advisory group area showing the main catchments

Map 1: North Highland advisory group area showing the main catchments (click for larger image)

How to use this plan

This plan is for the North Highland 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 co-ordinates the delivery of the river basin management plan for the Scotland river basin district within the North Highland advisory group area. The Scotland river basin district plan also includes several chapters that explain the different parts of the river basin planning process. 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.

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 water environment in North Highland advisory group area including classification, objectives, key measures and an outline of the work plan for the area advisory group for the next year.
  2. Catchment profiles provide information on classification, pressures, measures and objectives for each catchment. More detailed catchment profiles may be produced for some catchments if the Area Advisory Group needs such information to support particular projects.
  3. Action plan with information about how the North Highland Area Advisory Group will work together to deliver the area management plan and a record of where new measures are being developed. This will be kept as a live document during the first river basin planning cycle.

The organisations that are part of the North Highland Area Advisory Group helped to develop this plan. They are responsible for sharing the information contained in this plan with a wider range of stakeholders, to encourage them to implement the actions that are required in the North Highland 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, open to the public, has also been established to provide an opportunity for a wider group of stakeholders to be involved.