Scotland under serious water shortage threat which could impact every region

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scotland is facing a growing threat of water shortages which will only worsen if hot and dry weather continues, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has warned.Every region of the country has been put on a water scarcity alert by Sepa, and the body has forecast that 28 out of 83 areas will be put on the highest warning level by the end of June if there is no recovery of river levels.Rain forecast this weekend will do little to help rejuvenate Scotland's low water levels and a third of the country could face significant shortages by the end of the month.Nathan Critchlow-Watton, Sepa's head of water planning, said: "Our rivers and lochs are under immense stress and it's clear further action will be needed to protect them."The warning comes as the agency considers if it should suspend abstraction licences in the coming weeks in the worst affected areas, including Dumfriesshire and other parts of the south-west.Sepa said if river levels remain at very low flows for more than 30 days running, there is a heightened risk of a severe, long-lasting ecological impact.

The Met Office has said there is some rain on the way, starting with showers over the weekend before some heavier rainfall next week.

But hopes that it could help alleviate Scotland's dropping water levels have been dashed by Sepa. It said the anticipated rainfall will do little to ease the current situation as hot, dry weather is expected to continue and dominate into late June and early July.Oli Claydon, of the Met Office, said: "It has been a below average year for rainfall so far for Scotland as a whole, but especially parts of northern Scotland."Met Office data shows spring in Scotland saw 79 per cent of its average rainfall, and in the north it was