Lashing rain and cloudy grey skies have been an all too familiar sight this summer.
And despite a yellow warning for rain in the south yesterday and more heavy downpours forecast this week, parts of Scotland have been hit with warnings of potential water shortages.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency – which had two flood alerts and one flood warning in place yesterday – has issued its latest report which outlines eight rivers at risk of low water levels.
It follows a short spell of warm weather and ‘limited rainfall’ which has caused ground conditions and river flows to deteriorate.
Alerts are now in place for areas around the Firth of Forth and Firth of Tay, with early warnings of low levels for the rivers Clyde, Earn, Tay, and the Don in Aberdeenshire.
Parts of Scotland are at risk of water shortages amid ‘drier than average conditions’ despite a wet summer for many
Persistent downpours have brought localised flooding across the country with Ella Williamson getting soaked by a passing motorist in Paisley
The Kintyre, Irvine, Ayr, and Cree rivers have also been hit with early warnings of water scarcity.
Farmers, fruit and vegetable growers and other businesses which extract water from the rivers are being urged to ‘manage water supplies sustainably’ to avoid future restrictions should the warm spell continue.
A spokesman for Sepa said: ‘While much of Scotland has experienced a relatively wet summer so far, some regions have experienced drier than average conditions.
‘Limited rainfall over the past week, particularly across more central parts of Scotland, has meant that ground conditions and river flows have deteriorated across much of the country.’
The environment watchdog, which also issued a flood warning for the river Cree at Newton Stewart in Dumfries and Galloway yesterday, says the overall risk of water scarcity takes account of several factors including water usage and forecast weather conditions.
Claire Tunaley, Sepa’s senior hydrology specialist, said: ‘Although the sun may not always shine during the Scottish summer, we all know the weather can be unpredictable and we’re now seeing drier conditions across parts of the country.
‘This is a crucial time of year for water demand – it’s important water users and abstractors are aware of the risk of water scarcity so we can all help reduce pressure on the water environment.
‘We know it can be challenging for businesses that rely on the water environment to plan ahead during periods of unsettled weather, but the reality is the situation can change very quickly should we have drier than average conditions.’
Images captured earlier this summer showed rivers parched as temperatures in June hit the mid-20s. But wet weather that has plagued most of July and the start of this month does not seem to be abating any time soon.
Spectators shelter from the rain under umbrellas at the 152nd British Open Golf Championship at Royal Troon, South Ayrshire
Map shows the worst affected areas
A yellow weather warning covering much of Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders was in place yesterday and with a westerly breeze coming in from the Atlantic, up to two inches of rainfall is expected in the Highlands and Islands this week, with scattered showers forecast in the east.
Meteorologist Becky Mitchell said: ‘It’s not looking a particularly dry forecast at all. It’s quite wet weather for this coming week. We’ve got sunny spells on Thursday but after that it’s a band of rain.
‘The north-west will see the highest rainfall towards the Western Isles. There could be 40-50mm in some areas throughout this week. The east will not see quite as much, around 10-20mm [of rainfall] in some areas.’
The unsettled weather, which could also bring gusts of up to 35mph on Thursday, is expected to continue until mid-August.
But with a high pressure starting to build towards the end of the month, she said there could be a chance of dry spells during the last week of the month.
Scottish Water, which is responsible for public water supplies, stressed there was no water scarcity issues affecting the pubic supply.
A spokesman said: ‘Our weekly figures last week showed that our reservoirs across the country were at 83 per cent full on average and this is slightly above average for this time of year. So there is no issue at the moment. And it’s raining.
‘However, we would always encourage people to use water wisely year-round as it is a precious resource.’
