This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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No further nitrate designations at present
29/09/1998
The Ythan estuary will not be designated as a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone at present because there is still not enough conclusive evidence that the high nitrogen levels in the river are upsetting the natural balance of aquatic life, Scottish Environment Minister Lord Sewel announced today.
Lord Sewel said:
"Existing evidence on whether the Ythan estuary is subject to eutrophication (the enrichment of water by nitrogen compounds) is still not conclusive and so I have decided, for the moment, not to designate the Ythan catchment as a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone.
"We are continuing with our research effort to find out whether the estuary is subject to eutrophication in terms of the Nitrates Directive, and whether this is having an adverse effect on the environment. We hope to have firm evidence on this soon.
"I have also decided not to designate the Kinneswood borehole in Kinross because the results of the sampling from there are inconsistent with those from adjacent boreholes.
"We will be discussing with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency how we can improve our knowledge of nitrate concentrations and effects at both of these locations so that we are in a better position to undertake a further review in the near future."
BACKGROUND
1. The EC Nitrates Directive was adopted in 1991 and is an environmental measure which aims to reduce water pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources and to prevent further such pollution. Member States are required to identify waters "polluted" by nitrates and designate any land draining to these waters as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) and to establish Action Programmes which have the purpose of realising the principal objectives of the Directive. The measures contained in the Action Programmes will be compulsory in those areas designated as an NVZ.
2. Regulations to transpose the Directive into Scottish law were made in 1996.
3. In Scotland, the only current NVZ is at Balmalcolm, Fife. It was designated in 1996 after water from the public drinking water borehole exhibited nitrate levels approaching the 50mg/l limit, when monitored during 1992/93.
4. The Directive obliges Member States to review their designations every four years. SEPA have carried out the review in Scotland and they recommended that two additional designations should be made - the Ythan in Aberdeenshire - on the basis of eutrophication, and at Kinneswood in Perthshire and Kinross on the basis of rising nitrate concentrations.
5. The assessment of whether a stretch of water is eutrophic or whether it has the potential to become eutrophic is not possible simply by reference to numerical chemical criteria. A number of criteria need to be considered in order to come to a judgement. However, the importance of particular criteria depend on local circumstances. Following a public consultation exercise on the methodology to be followed for identifying polluted waters, the following criteria were agreed for the identification of estuarine, coastal and marine waters as eutrophic or potentially eutrophic:
Nitrate concentration;
Occurrence of exceptional algal blooms;
Duration of algal blooms;
Oxygen deficiency;
Reductions in fauna;
Changes in macrophyte growth;
Occurrence and magnitude of paralytic shellfish poisoning; and
Formation of algal scums on beaches and offshore.
The occurrence of any of these criteria should be considered when making a judgement whether the water is eutrophic or may become eutrophic.
7. The previous administration also decided not to designate the catchment of the river Ythan as a NVZ in January 1996.
News Release: 1954/98
29 September 1998