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River Basin Management Planning
- Tay Area Advisory Group


Map: Tay Advisory Group

Tay Area Advisory Group: who's who?


SEPA is responsible for:

• co-ordinating the production of River Basin Management Plans in the Scotland River Basin District (RBD as required by Section 10 of the ;
• technical aspects of the river basin planning process.

SEPA will chair the Area Advisory Group (AAG) in the first instance.

The chair will be supported by a River Basin Planning Coordinator for the AAG provided by SEPA. Each Area Advisory Group will have its own coordinator, who will be the first point of contact for the area. The coordinator will act as liaison between the members of the Area Advisory Group, members of the AAG Forum and SEPA.

Contact details for Area Advisory Group coordinators.

Tay Area Advisory Group Membership


Membership of the Tay Area Advisory Group is determined by the range and type of pressures in the Tay area. Members include representatives from:

Membership is flexible. It will be possible for additional members to be co-opted for agreed periods to assist with the preparation of particular aspects of River Basin Planning. Such members can be co-opted onto the Area Advisory Group for single meetings, to cover specific agenda items or for a short period, to advise the Area Advisory Group on a particular issue. They will not be full members and therefore will not determine quorum or vote.

Tay Area Advisory Group meeting agendas and minutes


The Tay Area Advisory Group will assist SEPA and other responsible authorities in carrying out their duties and obligations under the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 and associated regulations.

Tay Area Advisory Group meets regularly and provides a mechanism to support the production of a River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) for the Scotland RBD and its co-ordination with other plans and programmes. The meetings provide a means to:

  • consult with responsible authorities and interested parties;
  • reach consensus;
  • prioritise views on river basin planning and other matters related to the Water Framework Directive (WFD).

Follow the links in the table below to view agendas and minutes from Tay AAG meetings.

28th June 2006
Agenda - 38k pdf
Minutes and Papers Presentations
6th September 2006
Agenda - 8k pdf
Minutes and Papers Presentations
25th January 2007
Agenda - 9k pdf
Minutes and Papers Presentations
16th May 2007
Agenda - 14k pdf
Minutes and Papers Presentations

Pressures and Impacts: characterisation in the Tay Area


  • pressures and impacts;
  • protected areas;
  • economic issues.

Characterisation will also detail:

  • environmental objectives, with timescales for their achievement;
  • a Programme of Measures to achieve these objectives (including who will do what and when);
  • monitoring networks and programmes;
  • consultation/participation opportunities for interested parties.


SEPA’s WFD characterisation database is being continually updated and summary pressure and impact data will change over time. The map below shows results from some early characterisation work in the Tay area.


Map: Tay Surface Water Bodies
Click for larger image
The main pressures for freshwaters are:
  • morphological alterations (changes in the physical structure of water bodies);
  • abstraction;
  • flow regulation;
  • diffuse pollution.

For transitional and coastal waters, the main issues are:

  • diffuse pollution;
  • point source pollution.



More information on characterisation

SEPA has published a report on the characterisation of the Scotland River Basin District.

Monitoring and Classfication


The Water Framework Directive requires SEPA, and other responsible organisations in Scotland to develop new monitoring and classification systems by December 2006. These systems will cover all surface water and groundwater bodies. They will be based on a new ecological classification system with five quality classes underpinned by monitoring a range of biological quality elements.

Tay Area Advisory Group Forum

Click here to:

  • find out more about what’s happening in the Tay area;
  • be kept informed of the work of the Area Advisory Group;
  • learn more about the work of the Tay AAG Forum;
  • join the Tay AAG Forum.

Click on the links below for information on other Area Advisory Groups.

North East Scotland Tay Forth Tweed Solway
Clyde Argyll West Highland North Highland Orkney & Shetland

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