Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

What did Scotland's 2026 water scarcity season tell us?

While recent stormy conditions have helped the environment recover across much of the country, this year's reporting period was marked by prolonged dry conditions across eastern Scotland, leading to widespread water scarcity and pressures on the water environment.

Read the final report: beta.sepa.scot/water-scarcity…

Radioactivity in food, water and the wider environment continues to remain well below public health limits, according to the latest Radioactivity in Food and the Environment (RIFE-31) report.

Read more: beta.sepa.scot/news/2026/late…

The latest household waste figures are in. What do they tell us?

See some of the headline figures in the graphic below and read the full story here: beta.sepa.scot/news/2026/hous…

*Olympic pool figures are illustrative and based on an estimated conversion of waste volume to the capacity of a standard Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The Lower Tweed has reached Significant Scarcity following our latest assessment of water scarcity conditions.

Despite recent rainfall, prolonged dry conditions continue to affect rivers across eastern Scotland. The Tyne (Lothian) and Tweed catchments remain at Moderate Scarcity.

Read the latest report: beta.sepa.scot/water-scarcity…

Pat Munro (Alness) Limited has been issued with a £32,100.81 Variable Monetary Penalty for the disposal of controlled waste at Caplich Quarry, Alness.

Our investigation found a former pond had been progressively filled with controlled waste between 2018 and 2024 without a waste management licence in place. LiDAR technology estimated around 20,000 tonnes had been deposited.

Read more: beta.sepa.scot/news/2026/high…