This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Protecting the water environment
28/04/2005
Stronger regulations and improved monitoring to protect
Scotland's rivers, lochs and coastlines was announced
today.
The Controlled Activities Regulations will apply to all
activities that impact on the quality of that environment
such as abstraction of water, pollution and building or
engineering works. They are designed to be flexible,
risk-based and proportionate in their application.
Investment of almost £3 million will extend the
groundwater monitoring network and provide digital mapping
of all engineering changes to rivers in Scotland.
Deputy Environment and Rural Development Minister Lewis
Macdonald said:
"The quality of Scotland's water environment affects us
all and the Executive is determined to protect our lochs,
rivers and coastal waters for our own and future
generations.
"This package of regulation and resources will help
ensure the long-term protection of our precious water
resources and the wildlife they support.
"This substantial investment will enable us to deliver
several major capital projects and will assist SEPA and
other organisations in managing our water environment and
minimising damage to river habitats and wetlands."
The Water Framework Directive, introduced in December
2000, applies to all water in the natural environment -
that is all rivers, lochs, estuaries and coastal waters as
well as water under the ground.
It aims to:
- prevent deterioration in the status of surface
water and groundwater bodies
- protect, enhance and restore all bodies of surface
water and groundwater with the aim of achieving good
status by 2015
- prevent or limit the input of pollutants to
groundwater and reverse any significant and sustained
upward trend in the concentration of pollutants in
groundwater
- comply with European wide measures against priority
and priority hazardous substances
- achieve compliance with any relevant standards and
objectives for protected areas
The £2.85 million funding comes from savings arising in
a number of areas within the portfolio and will deliver the
following capital and research projects which aim to
protect the Scottish water environment:
- Extended groundwater monitoring network
- Enhanced water resource monitoring network to help
identify pressures on water resources
- Digital map of all engineering changes to rivers
will enable better assessment of damage to river
habitats and wetlands
- Creation of a temporary processing centre to enable
SEPA to transfer consents to the new Controlled
Activities Regulations regime
- A web-based registration and application facility
for water users providing a simple and efficient
web-based means by which water users may register
controlled activities
- Capital equipment for monitoring hazardous
substances