What Challenges Does Scotland’s Water Sector Face?

While the water crisis is indeed a global one, every country around the world faces its own unique challenges where resources are concerned, ranging from drought and flooding to pollution, water mismanagement and overabstraction.

Looking specifically at Scotland, you might well be forgiven for thinking that the country would be spared the impacts of climate change on water supplies given that it sees significant annual rainfall, with over 1,500mm of rain per year – typically the highest in the UK.

However, over the last few years, water stress and scarcity have become more problematic, with warmer temperatures and a lack of rainfall affecting groundwater levels, leading to warnings from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) over drought.

13 fast facts about drought in Scotland

NatureScot research shows that over the next 20 years, Scotland will face increased risk of climate change-driven extreme drought:

• The number of extreme drought events could rise from an average of one every 20 years to one in every three.
• Drought periods could last between two and three months longer than before.
• The Borders, Caithness, Aberdeenshire, Shetland and Orkney were identified as drought hotspots.

Research from The James Hutton Institute looked into how climate change will affect water availability for the farming and whisky sectors, finding:

• The number of water scarcity events in Scotland could double by 2050.
• Surface water events in some catchment areas, where rivers fall to significantly low levels, could climb in frequency to every other year, or even more often.
• April/May and late August/September were predicted to be noticeably drier, potentially affecting crop yields and livestock gains.
• Summer groundwater levels have been lower in recent decades.
• Regions with low groundwater storage capacity and falling groundwater recharge are likely to become more vulnerable to drought.

ClimateXChange research shows how dry weather could affect Scotland, revealing:

• 37 per cent of people feel that drought isn’t likely to ever be a problem for Scotland.
• Although wetter winters are expected to be seen in Scotland in the future, this extra rain won’t make up for the lower precipitation seen in the summer months, affecting agriculture and forestry, and limiting land use options unless irrigation supply is increased.
• Agricultural land will likely become less productive as drought conditions get worse and soils dry out. Potatoes and other vegetables will need significantly more irrigation during summer.
• Warmer weather may potentially improve forest development but this could be quickly counteracted by drought-related losses.
• Both forest productivity and timber quality are predicted to be affected by severe drought, affecting trees that are common in Scotland, such as Douglas fir, Scots pine (the national tree) and Sitka spruce.

What key challenges does the Scottish water industry now face?

In a guest post for the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, Newcastle University research associate Dr Elizabeth Lawson discussed the key challenges now facing the water industry in Scotland, at a time when the country’s water environment is becoming increasingly complicated, with water resources affected by rising demand, migrating populations and climate change.

Extreme weather events

Climate predictions by the Met Office indicate that Scotland will see warmer, wetter winters and drier summers, with both water scarcity and flooding already affecting the country.

More than half of Scotland’s population will be at risk of water scarcity by 2050, official figures show, with water scarcity warnings issued by SEPA for spring/summer 2025, particularly in the east of the country, which has experienced higher scarcity levels since 1991.

More intense storms are also expected to hit Scotland, with total rainfall from extremely wet days up by around 17 per cent for the UK between 2008 and 2017, with the biggest changes seen north of the border.

This new storm intensity will likely put more pressure on ageing water infrastructure and potentially lead to more sewage pollution incidents.

High consumption & increased demand

As average temperatures increase, a rise in water demand for different uses is also likely to be seen, including applications such as:

– Agriculture, horticulture and wider industry

– Tourism

– Low carbon alternatives to energy production (such as hydrogen and biofuels)

– Drinking water

– Public health services

Furthermore, as Scotland’s population continues to grow, a migratory shift from west to east is being seen, while changing demographics are also seeing more people living alone or in smaller family units.

It’s expected that there will be 4.3 million households in Scotland by 2043 (an average increase of 13,000 households per year), which will put more pressure on resources if water consumption traits continue at current levels.

Water use in Scotland is higher than elsewhere in the UK and Europe, driven by the assumption that there is plenty of water to spare. Only a small handful of households in Scotland have water meters installed, as well, which may be contributing to low awareness of water consumption.

Rainwater drainage & sewer flooding

New building developments (including houses, roads and driveways) will increase the area of impermeable surfaces, increasing the amount of rainwater surface runoff. This is linked to sewer flooding, which can overflow into properties or out into the urban environment.

Some 2,300 properties in Scotland are currently at risk of sewer flooding and this is expected to rise by 60 per cent come 2050 without adaptation measures.

How can businesses save water?

It may sound a little overwhelming when presented with such harsh facts all at once, but there are ways in which businesses can help safeguard water resources for the future, building resilience into their systems and protecting the environment.

Understanding how and where you use water is the first step towards improving your blue credentials and reducing your water footprint.

Here at SwitchWaterSupplier.com, we can help you gain water consumption insights so you can invest in the appropriate water-saving solutions and adjust these over time as the needs of your business change.

If you’d like to find out more, get in touch with the team today.