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SEPA publishes a long-term river water quality indicator, based on a network of sites covering 253 water bodies (rivers or sections of rivers). This indicator is based on a consistent set of five water quality parameters which are sensitive to organic pollution, nutrients and toxic substances, and which provide a measure of species diversity across approximately 10% of all water bodies. Monitoring In 2011, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) established an indicator of river water quality based on a network of sites covering 253 water bodies (rivers or sections of rivers), which account for approximately 10% of all water bodies. The indicator is based on a consistent set of five water quality parameters which are sensitive to organic pollution, nutrients and toxic s

Conserving and protecting the world’s natural resources is vital. For Scotland to become a resilient, resource efficient economy, we must cut waste production, keep materials circulating for as long as possible, prevent the harms from waste management and tackle waste crime. SEPA’s waste to resources framework sets out how we work to deliver these goals, in line with our Sector Planning approach a

SEPA is responsible for reporting national waste statistics to the Scottish Government and European Union among others. As regulator, SEPA also has a duty to assess whether waste management sites comply with the conditions of their licence or permit. To do this, SEPA collects and verifies data from a number of sources, mainly: Operators of all licensed and most permitted waste management sites Op

Since 2009 a monitoring buoy has been deployed in the Firth of Clyde adjacent to Dunoon. This location is a long term monitoring site for both marine chemical and ecological parameters and was previously monitored on a monthly basis. Continuous monitoring equipment attached to the buoy detects short term changes in water quality that are missed by monthly monitoring. Firth of Clyde monitoring buoy

Our vision is for towns and cities to use nature-based, blue-green solutions to absorb and safely convey rainwater. This will: help strengthen their resilience to the intense downpours they face under climate change minimise the risk of polluting sewage spills by keeping rainwater out of sewers create fantastic places for people to live and work Urban wastewaters Over the past 20 years, SEPA has

What is an elevated building? A building where structures such as pillars or stilts are used to raise it above the expected flood water level. The ground below the building remains at risk of flooding and allows for the free flow of water. Context for this position statement This position statement constitutes part of ‘relevant SEPA advice’ as referred to in criterion a) iv of the National Plannin

Pen layout changes at marine finfish farms Published: March 2024 1. Authorisation of pen layout changes 1.1 All pen layout changes require prior-authorisation from SEPA. To obtain authorisation, operators must apply to SEPA to very their existing SEPA permit. 1.2 All such applications will be subject to screening, environmental risk assessment (see section 2). This assessment will determine whethe

Legislation directs SEPA to assess and classify each shellfish protected area. To deliver this we work closely with Food Standards Scotland (FSS). FSS sample, analyse and report water quality in production areas throughout the year to ensure shellfish are safe for consumption, or determine if they require further treatment. At the end of each year FSS provide SEPA with this data who use it to clas

List of data published by SEPA. Links to access data itself or applications that show the data We publish a range of datasets related to the environment, and we are continually reviewing and adding to this list. Please use our online form to contact us if you cannot find the dataset you require. We have a Corrections policy for handling revisions and corrections to the statistical summaries we produce. Our User engagement policy specifies how we engage with users to ensure our statistics ar

Marine aquaculture modelling Computer modelling is used as a guide to determining licensed discharge quantities of anti-parasitic chemicals and organic waste arising from marine fish-farm operations. The modelling tools promoted by SEPA provide robust predictions in most cases, requiring relatively little site-specific information. Nevertheless, the quality of the model outputs is dependent upon g