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Section 1 - Water Policy in Scotland

1 The Water Framework Directive

The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC ( WFD) applies to all water in the natural environment - that is all rivers, lochs, estuaries and coastal waters as well as water under the ground.

The Directive came into force on 22 December 2000 and we had three years from that date to transpose its provisions into Scots Law. The basic objectives to be achieved as set out in Article 4(1) of the WFD can be summarised as follows:

• prevent deterioration in the status of surface water bodies;
• protect, enhance and restore all bodies of surface water with the aim of achieving good surface water status by 2015;
• prevent deterioration of the status of groundwater bodies;
• protect, enhance and restore all bodies of groundwater with the aim of achieving good groundwater 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 Europe-wide measures for dangerous substances; and
• achieve compliance with any relevant standards and objectives for protected areas.

The Directive requires Member States to put in place systems for managing their water environments, on the basis of units that make sense in environmental terms - River Basin Districts ( RBDs), which include all interdependent rivers, lochs, estuaries, coastal waters and associated underground waters. A new planning process will be established to draw up River Basin Management Plans ( RBMP) for each River Basin District, setting out where there are environmental problems and what will be done to tackle them.

For the first time we will control all impacts on the water environment - physical, polluting and otherwise - with the aim of achieving 'good' ecological status for most waters by the specified deadline of 2015 in most cases. Status is determined on the basis of ecology because the Directive requires that quality is determined not just by the chemical composition of waters but by the fish, plant and other life that inhabit it.

We also need to take account of the need to recover the costs of water services as a way of encouraging the sustainable use of water resources.

The Directive repeals and replaces a number of older EC water Directives and incorporates the remaining existing water Directives (the Bathing Water, Nitrates and Urban Waste Water Treatment Directives) into its framework through its protected areas provisions. The 'Natura' Directives on the protection of Habitats and Birds are also linked to this Directive by virtue of the protected area provisions.

The Water Framework Directive can be read at: http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=32000L0060&model=guichett

2 Timetable for Implementation

3 The Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003

The WFD was successfully implemented in Scotland by the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 ( WEWS). This legislation places Scotland in an excellent position in respect of the achievement of our environmental objectives.

The aim of the WEWS Act is to protect and improve the water environment while also supporting the social and economic interests of those who depend on it.

The WEWS Act identifies the Scottish Environment Protection Agency ( SEPA) as the competent authority for the Scotland River Basin District and gives certain duties to Scottish Ministers.

In drawing up the provisions of the WEWS Act, we took the opportunity to go beyond the requirements of the Water Framework Directive and introduce provisions which should result in better environmental improvements for Scotland:

• WFD objectives will apply to coastal waters out to three nautical miles.
• The WEWS Act introduces specific requirements to identify pressures and impacts in wetlands directly dependent on a body of either surface or ground water. The WFD's monitoring requirements have also been extended to cover such wetlands.

We believe these provisions provide additional protection of the water environment without placing an undue burden on stakeholders or regulators.

The WEWS Act sets out specifications for the implementation of the river basin planning process in Scotland (see section 9). It also includes requirements for control regimes to regulate all activities that pose a risk to the water environment. These arrangements have now been introduced via the Controlled Activities Regulations ( CAR) (see section 10).

The WEWS Act contains provisions for the promotion of sustainable development. It places specific duties on Scottish Ministers, SEPA and responsible authorities to adopt an integrated approach and to act in a way best calculated to contribute to sustainable development, so far as is consistent with the purposes of the designated function (see section 6).

The Act also requires all designated authorities to have specific regard to sustainable flood management in the exercise of their functions. The Flooding Issues Advisory Committee ( FIAC) advises the Executive on the implementation of the National Flooding Framework, and produces technical guidance for local authorities on flood prevention schemes and sustainable flood management. The Committee also aims to diversify into issues which are not merely of a technical nature and to be at the forefront of flooding issues in Scotland.

The WEWS Act requires Scottish Water to take responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of all Sustainable Urban Drainage systems ( SUDS) that meet certain construction standards. This is dealt with in part 2 of the Act: Water and Sewerage Services, which was commenced with the Water Services etc. (Scotland) Act 2005.

The WEWS Act requires that an annual report on progress should be submitted before the Scottish Parliament. This document is the third such report and focuses on the next stages in implementing the Water Framework Directive made during 2005.

The Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 can be found at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2003/20030003.htm

The Water Services etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 can be found at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2005/20050003.htm

4 Our Approach to Implementing the Water Framework Directive

The WFD represents a significant shift in attitude to water resource management, taking a more holistic approach to protection of the water environment, both in terms of the assessment of water status and the scale at which resources are managed.

Under the Directive, water status is determined not only by its chemical condition, but by the health of the animals and plants that live in it. We therefore need to look more broadly at water use, considering all activities that could pose a risk to water life, including alterations to banks, bed or shores, or to the amount of water in the water body. Therefore, we will for the first time put in place controls for any activity that abstracts or impounds water, and engineering or construction works that alter the shape of a water body, as well as discharges into watercourses (see section 10).

The WFD looks at the water environment on a larger, river basin scale, rather than at rivers or lochs individually. This means that we will need to consider not only local risks posed by activities in, for example, one part of a river, but also their impacts on the water environment downstream and in water bodies elsewhere in the River Basin District ( RBD). Over the next few years, we will develop a risk-based planning process for managing water in each basin, which will set environmental objectives and design a programme of measures to deliver those targets (see section 9). We will also need monitoring programmes to assess whether the measures are effective.

Implementation of the Directive therefore needs a change in approach from everyone involved - water users, regulators and policy makers. This means broadening our outlook to consider the interplay between different pressures and impacts, and the larger-scale impacts of water use.

The Executive's overall aim is to balance protection of the water environment with sustainable use, and therefore to integrate delivery of WFD objectives with work in many other areas, including industry, fisheries and planning. We are working to ensure that the water environment is considered as early as possible in the policy development process, both within the Executive and by other public bodies, to ensure a joined-up approach.

The Water Framework Directive impacts on all water users in Scotland, and we recognise the importance therefore of working together to achieve a balance between our environmental aims and their business needs. Our approach has been to seek open dialogue and the sharing of information and experience with SEPA, stakeholders and other policy teams in the UK and across Europe.

Working with water users

Our key aim is to achieve a balance between environmental priorities and social and economic needs. The Executive and SEPA have adopted a pro-active collaborative approach to WFD implementation, working with stakeholders across many sectors since 2001.

As a result of this engagement, Scottish water users have helped to shape delivery of the WFD through the National Stakeholders' Forum ( NSF) established in 2003, SEPA's stakeholder groups and responses to a number of consultations. In addition, stakeholder meetings have provided a sounding board for the iterative development of proposals and helped to streamline them, leading to processes that balance the needs of different sectors but that are as simple and efficient as possible.

In March 2005, SEPA's Characterisation and Impacts Analyses report highlighted three key impacts on the Scotland basin's water environment: hydropower generation, drinking water supply and wastewater treatment (through abstraction, impoundment and physical alterations to water bodies, and point source discharge for sewerage) and agriculture (mostly through diffuse pollution). Three case studies set out later in this report demonstrate how we are working with water users in each of these areas to deliver our joint objectives.

Key bodies such as local authorities and Scottish Water will be involved more directly in the delivery of the WFD through the designation of responsible authorities (see section 6). These public bodies will be obliged to ensure compliance with WFD objectives in carrying out any of their functions that impact on the water environment. Designation will also provide a framework for greater collaboration between these authorities, and help them to support SEPA in its lead role for river basin planning.

Working with SEPA

Ministers set the policy framework for implementing the WFD and will be responsible for approving the objectives set out in RBMPs. SEPA's role in delivering the objectives of WFD is through implementing CAR, developing river basin planning and managing the monitoring and assessment of water bodies. These activities require close work with the Executive, pro-active engagement with a range of stakeholders and agencies and sound scientific assessments of water bodies and their uses.

In 2005, the Executive and SEPA drew up a joint plan for the implementation of the WFD, setting a framework for the collaboration that will be essential in delivering the 15-year programme. SEPA's technical and practical knowledge has been vital in developing the proposals for the Controlled Activities Regulations, and ensuring the delivery of a regulatory system that achieves our dual aims of delivering WFD objectives and minimising the impact on water users. Joint working will continue to be important in 2006 in developing environmental standards and the RBMP process.

Working with other policy areas

The WFD impacts on any activity that uses or affects water or water bodies. This requires collaboration and early integration with other policy areas, including land-use planning, transport, energy, fisheries, enterprise, agriculture and the water industry. Teams in the Executive are working together to ensure that potential impacts on the water environment are considered early in the development of other policies.

Working with other administrations - UK and Europe

Catchment boundaries do not follow political borders. Similarly, businesses must be able to rely on consistent controls on water use across European states. It is therefore vital that we look beyond our borders and share information and ideas with administrations in the UK and across Europe.

On a UK level, the Executive plays a key role in a forum comprising the administrations and environment agencies. The forum is supported on technical matters by the UK Technical Advisory Group, UKTAG. This forum enables us to develop a common approach, where appropriate, to the UK's implementation of the WFD programme, and also facilitates the exchange of ideas and good practice. Relationships built through the forum have been valuable in the development of environmental standards that will be used to assess water quality in the UK (see section 8). Development of river basin planning in the Solway-Tweed basin, which straddles the Scottish-English border, will rely on close collaboration between the two administrations and agencies, to ensure that properly integrated systems are developed to deliver environmental objectives.

Through the UK forum, Scotland feeds into European policy on implementing the WFD, in working groups and fora established by the European Commission. The Executive and SEPA play an important role in a range of European projects, including an exploration of how the needs of hydropower, flood protection and navigation can be integrated with the WFD (see first case study).

SEPA's Characterisation and Impacts Analyses Report for the Scotland RBD is at: http://www.sepa.org.uk/pdf/publications/wfd/Article_5_Scotland_River_Basin.pdf

5 Funding Issues

The Scottish Executive is committed to ensuring that the provisions of the WEWS Act are effectively and proportionately implemented in Scotland. Under the 2004 spending review process, Scottish Ministers increased SEPA's grant-in-aid for the period 2005-08 to make provision for the additional work needed to implement the Act. SEPA will allocate these resources on the priorities that have been set out to ensure delivery of the environmental objectives.

In April 2005, Lewis Macdonald announced the provision of an additional £2.85 million to deliver important capital and research projects to support implementation of the Directive. Some of these projects will be delivered by SEPA, while others will involve work from other organisations.

Much of this additional funding is linked to delivery of key programmes in the WEWS Act, including implementation of the Controlled Activities Regulations ( CAR), and the extension of SEPA's monitoring network to meet the increased requirements of WFD.

In 2005, this funding supported the establishment of a temporary processing centre, which has enabled SEPA to provide customers with a dedicated transfer service during the transition phase to regulation under CAR (see section 10).

In the future, this funding will support additional projects, including:

• An extended groundwater monitoring network;
• An enhanced water resource monitoring network to help identify pressures on water resources; and
• Capital equipment for monitoring hazardous substances.

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