Scottish growers abstracting water are being warned that action is needed now to protect water resources amid continuing dry weather.
The latest weekly report from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) shows that the majority of the country is now seeing the impacts of water scarcity.
It says conditions are deteriorating as the dry weather continues, with 'significant scarcity' affecting Helmsdale and Naver and 'moderate scarcity' including Wick, Cree, Doon, Ayr and Arran.
The longer-term forecast suggests that there is an increased likelihood of hot, dry weather compared to normal, with a greater chance of impacts from hot weather.
Farmers, growers and other water abstractors licenced by SEPA should have a plan to deal with the range of conditions they may experience, the agency advises.
They should monitor their water usage and equipment to ensure they are operating at maximum efficiency and avoiding any unnecessary leakage, SEPA adds.
It warned in the spring that water scarcity conditions could deteriorate quickly if a period of prolonged dry weather returned later in the year.
Scotland experienced an extremely dry April, with less than a third of the usual rainfall across a large part of the southern country.
This caused water levels to fall rapidly and ground conditions became increasingly dry.
Wet weather in early May partly balanced this in some areas of the country, but in others it remained quite dry, SEPA explained.
Scotland as a whole had less than half the normal rainfall for June (45%) and was 1.4 degrees Celsius warmer than usual.
Ground conditions continued to dry rapidly over the last two weeks of the month.
While the beginning of July saw some locally intense rain, but it was not enough to lead to a sustained improvement.
Some rivers in the Highlands are returning levels that have not been seen for several years.
Terry A’Hearn, chief executive said: “Water scarcity is resulting in pressures on the environment and water users and businesses abstracting water must take action now to conserve water.
"My message is clear: SEPA is here to offer support and guidance, so if you are having difficulty obtaining water supply or are concerned about meeting licence conditions get in touch.
"If you work with us and try to do the right thing in this next period, you will find a helpful and supportive regulator.
"If you deliberately do the wrong thing, then you’ll get the uncompromising regulator your behaviour deserves."
