{"id":889,"date":"2026-02-10T12:43:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T12:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/?page_id=889"},"modified":"2026-02-10T12:49:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T12:49:23","slug":"sepa-water-quality","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/index.php\/sepa-water-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"SEPA Water Quality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Public consultation, Safeguarding Scotland&#8217;s Water Environment<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Please begin by reading: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/consultation.sepa.org.uk\/water-unit\/swmi\/#factbank-2e9d70ad38254ea09e688b01452a89c3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Safeguarding Scotland\u2019s Water Environment<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This document sets out the significant water management issues and the evidence behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After reading the above page, select\u00a0\u2018<strong>Share your views<\/strong>\u2019\u00a0to begin.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By submitting your response to this consultation, you give us permission to analyse and include your response in our results.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Letter from SEPA dated: 9<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0December 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) are calling on Scots to have their say on the future of the nation\u2019s water environment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SEPA has launched a public consultation,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/consultation.sepa.org.uk\/water-unit\/swmi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Safeguarding Scotland&#8217;s Water Environment<\/a>, about what it calls Significant Water Management Issues \u2013 issues that are having a significant adverse impact on the condition of the water environment and that it seeks to tackle. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The consultation is open until 3 March 2026.&nbsp; I know that Community Councils appreciate a sharable version of consultations which members can read in advance of discussion. A Word version of the consultation is therefor provided on the consultation website &#8211;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/consultation.sepa.org.uk\/water-unit\/swmi\/supporting_documents\/safeguarding-scotlands-water-environmentdocx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Safeguarding Scotland\u2019s Water Environment<\/a>. I do hope that you may be able to promote the consultation on the community council social and with local groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The water environment is one of Scotland\u2019s most precious natural assets. It supports a rich diversity of wildlife, contributes to people\u2019s health and wellbeing and provides for the sustainable growth of Scotland\u2019s economy. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Water experts at the agency have identified seven key focus areas for the next six-year water management cycle: &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>rural diffuse pollution (the release of potential pollutants from a range of activities such as agricultural run-off)&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the physical condition of rivers&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>artificial barriers to fish migration (physical modifications to rivers built for water storage, navigation, water abstraction and crossings for road and rail transport)&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>sea lice from marine fish farms&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>water use (ensuring our water resources are resilient to a changing climate and managed within environmental limits) &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>wastewater and sewer networks&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>chemicals in the water environment&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The consultation outlines the targeted work already underway to address these complex issues and sets out a recalibrated approach to achieving further vital progress with partners over the next period, in line with the evolving context. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Input from members of the public and communities is essential to ensure plans reflect local experiences, practical solutions and a wide range of perspectives across Scotland. Respondents can have their say on the Significant Water Management Issues and offer their thoughts on the role this work could play in supporting climate adaptation, nature recovery and health and wellbeing. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rachel Harding-Hill, Head of Environmental Resilience and Enhancement at SEPA, said: &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cProtecting and improving our water environment as a vital natural asset is fundamental to Scotland\u2019s efforts to build resilience to climate change and to ensure that the needs of wildlife, people and the economy can be met and safeguarded into the future. This requires ongoing effective management of the issues that are having a negative impact in a catchment-wide approach.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur current proposals are at a formative stage, and we want to gather valuable evidence of the range of experiences and opinions, knowledge and ideas on this pivotal issue to inform our decision-making.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe know people across Scotland share our respect and aspirations for our water environment and we look forward to engaging with them at this key stage of our planning.\u201d &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The consultation will feed into Scotland\u2019s River Basin Management Planning (RBMP) &#8211; Scotland\u2019s six-yearly framework for protecting and improving the water environment &#8211; which will be further consulted on in December 2026. The current RBMP cycle ends in December 2027. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Safeguarding Scotland&#8217;s Water Environment consultation is open now on SEPA\u2019s consultation hub:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Have your say at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/consultation.sepa.org.uk\/water-unit\/swmi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Safeguarding Scotland\u2019s Water Environment &#8211; Scottish Environment Protection Agency &#8211; Citizen Space&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You will want to know that I have promoted this to MSPs, MPs and local authority Councillors asking them to amplify our message to their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I appreciate that representation on community councils change over time and I\u2019d be grateful if you were able to update me on any changes to your principal officers \u2013 Chair and Secretary, specifically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regards,<br>Peter Finnie | Public Affairs &#8211; Scottish Environment Protection Agency<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"417\" height=\"124\" src=\"https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEPA-Logo.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-883\" style=\"width:279px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEPA-Logo.jpg 417w, https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEPA-Logo-300x89.jpg 300w, https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEPA-Logo-100x30.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 417px) 100vw, 417px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Public consultation, Safeguarding Scotland&#8217;s Water Environment Please begin by reading: Safeguarding Scotland\u2019s Water Environment This document sets out the significant water management issues and the evidence behind them. After reading the above page, select\u00a0\u2018Share your views\u2019\u00a0to begin.\u00a0 By submitting your response to this consultation, you give us permission to analyse and include your response in our results.&nbsp; Letter from SEPA &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-889","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=889"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":897,"href":"https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/889\/revisions\/897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/midathollcc.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}