Water Framework Directive : Protected Area Register
To meet the requirements of the Water Framework Directive and The Water Environment (Register of Protected Areas) (
Scotland) Regulations 2004, SEPA must establish and maintain a register of protected areas.
Over the years, the Scottish Executive has designated areas requiring special protection under a number of EC directives, either to protect their surface water or groundwater or to conserve habitats and species that directly depend on those waters. The register will help to ensure that water bodies are managed to achieve the protected area objectives.
The register consists of a list of sites and a set of maps showing the relevant protected areas. The list presented here covers all protected areas in Scotland. More detailed maps of the drinking water protected areas within the Scotland river basin district are available on the Scottish Government website here. Maps for the Scotland and Solway Tweed River Basin Districts are shown below:-
Protected Area Register Solway Tweed RBD Nutrient sensitive areas
Protected Area Register Solway Tweed RBD Economically Significant Species and Bathing Waters
Protected Area Register Solway Tweed RBD Water dependent conservation areas
Protected Area Register Solway Tweed RBD Waters used for the Abstraction of Drinking Water
Protected Area Register Scotland RBD Nutrient sensitive areas
Protected Area Register Scotland RBD Economically Significant Species and Bathing Waters
Protected Area Register Scotland RBD Water dependent conservation areas
Protected Area Register Scotland RBD Waters used for the Abstraction of Drinking Water
Waters used for the abstraction of drinking water This is a new category of protected area that will replace the system of drinking water protection currently provided by the Surface Water Abstraction Directive (75/440/EEC) (to be repealed at the end of 2007).
Areas designated to protect economically significant species These are protected areas established under earlier EC directives aimed at protecting shellfish (79/923/EEC) and freshwater fish (78/659/EEC).
Recreational waters These are bathing waters designated under the Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC).
Nutrient sensitive areas These comprise nitrate vulnerable zones and polluted waters designated under the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) and areas designated as sensitive areas under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC).
Areas designated for the protection of habitats or species These are areas previously designated for the protection of habitats or species where maintaining or improving the status of water is important for their protection. They comprise the aquatic part of Natura 2000 sites designated under the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) and the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC).
