Businesses in Scotland abstracting water from the environment are being urged to plan for possible shortages this summer, with some parts of the country already recording low river levels and dry ground conditions.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has published the first water scarcity report of 2023, which shows parts of western, central and northern Scotland have reached the early warning level for water scarcity.
It follows mixed conditions over the last six months, with winter drier than average across most of the country, in contrast to a mostly wet autumn. A particularly dry February has also contributed to lower than normal river flows and groundwater levels for this time of year.
