AN emergency scheme to combat drought has been introduced in Scotland while much of the country has been given an early warning of water scarcity.

Emergency bottled water will be provided to households in the event of water shortages, the Scottish Government has confirmed.

A pilot project, with the assistance of Scottish Water, Aberdeenshire Council and Consumer Scotland, is being launched to assess whether the public water networks can be extended to accommodate households reliant on private supplies.

The Scottish Government will be investing £20 million during the parliamentary term to support the programme.

It comes as the latest analysis from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) shows an east-west split in the risk of water scarcity across Scotland.

An "early warning" is in place across most of the south and east of Scotland as a result of the dry winter and spring.

And it is feared conditions may worsen unless there is more than average rainfall in the coming weeks.

Sepa has already advised water users, including those with private water supplies, to be aware of the potential risk of scarcity this summer, and for businesses to "plan ahead" where possible.

It said that groundwater levels at monitoring sites in the east and south-west remain low for the time of year.

Environment minister Mairi McAllan said: "It is clear that climate change is affecting Scotland and the availability of water.

The Herald:

"In recent times, prolonged dry weather has resulted in many private supplies running dry much earlier in the year, causing distress and hardship to households and businesses across Scotland - particularly in rural communities.

"In addition to taking action to prevent climate change we must all do all we can to mitigate its effects.

"That is why were are putting in place emergency support now, as well as investing £20 million to begin building the resilience of our private water supplies for the future."

The Scottish Government said that any household on private water supplies that experience a loss of water due to water scarcity should contact their local authority.

There are roughly 22,000 private water supplies in Scotland serving some 50,000 properties, typically found in remote and rural locations beyond the reach of public water mains.

Most supplies source their water from surface waters such as streams, rivers and lochs which are at risk of being impacted by dry, hot weather.

Research published in 2020 by the Centre of Expertise for Waters on the impact of climate change confirmed that private water supplies in upland areas and particularly those in the north east of Scotland are at high risk of running dry.

However last year water scarcity had the biggest impact in the south of the Scotland - indicating that it is difficult to predict exactly which regions will be affected each year.

The Scottish Government pilot will be rolled out in Aberdeenshire first with a view to expanding it across Scotland.

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The aim is to understand the issues that need to be addressed when extending public water mains before decisions are made as to how support funds should be allocated.

"We have asked Scottish Water to examine the prospect of connecting up communities that are in close proximity of existing water mains and that have experienced loss of water due to water scarcity, and that work is underway to determine which households might benefit," said Mr McAllan "Most of us take for granted that clean drinking water is available at a turn of a tap. However Sepa's reports of recurring water scarcity are a stark reminder of the need to conserve water as one of our most precious natural resources.

"Whether you are on a private of public supply I urge all households to use water wisely - it's good for us and it's essential for the environment."

A recent Scottish study showed that the nation was at increasing risk of drought and warned measures must be put in place now to ensure water supplies are kept at safe levels.

The project, which investigated how people are affected by droughts in Scotland, was led by Kerri McClymont, a PhD student in Heriot-Watt’s School of Energy, Geoscience, They say public and private supplies of drinking water could be under threat due to drier summers and depleted reservoir levels.

They recommended that Scotland creates an improved early warning system for droughts and uses tourism campaigns to ask visitors to use water wisely.

They also said the perception of Scotland as a wet country may encourage people to waste water.

Scotland experienced water scarcity in 2018, 2020 and 2021, with the latter being the second driest summer in Scotland for 160 years.

At the time, SEPA said above average rainfall was required to see long-term recovery because a “significant rainfall deficit” had built up over the summer.