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Table 1:<br />

Modelled total annual losses (for Escherichia coli 1014 cfu per year,<br />

otherwise tonnes per year) to surface and groundwater by source<br />

Diffuse sources<br />

Urban Roads Agriculture Forestry<br />

Septic<br />

tanks<br />

Point<br />

source<br />

Sewage<br />

discharges<br />

NO 3<br />

2724 470 45569 769 1886 10558<br />

P 289 36 2833 237 142 1928<br />

SS 46820 29598 773845 13449 7513 7198<br />

FIO 400 90 7300 – 2400 21400<br />

Information on agricultural practices causing water bodies to be placed at risk h<strong>as</strong><br />

been compiled from farm scale diffuse pollution audit work (Frost et al., 2000). Major<br />

activities posing a risk to the water environment include excessive use of nutrients<br />

in many c<strong>as</strong>es caused by not taking into account the nutrient content of manures<br />

and slurries, the use of contractors resulting in spreading of slurry in inappropriate<br />

conditions, cropping in high-risk locations e.g. arable cultivation of fields that flood<br />

regularly, cultivation of slopes next to watercourses, and the access of stock to<br />

watercourses.<br />

SEPA will continue to refine its risk <strong>as</strong>sessment data. A new monitoring programme<br />

will be underway in 2006. For diffuse pollution, monitoring needs to be more intensive<br />

and it is planned to monitor in a range of ‘priority catchments’ which represent a<br />

selection of land use, soil type and climatic conditions in Scotland. More details<br />

of this and the results of further characterisation will be described in the Significant<br />

Water Management Issues Report due to be published in 2007.<br />

MONITORING AND CLASSIFICATION<br />

The WFD requires SEPA, and other responsible organisations in Scotland, to develop<br />

new monitoring and cl<strong>as</strong>sification systems by December 2006. The monitoring and<br />

cl<strong>as</strong>sification systems will cover all surface water and groundwater bodies, and<br />

be b<strong>as</strong>ed on a new Ecological Cl<strong>as</strong>sification system, with five quality cl<strong>as</strong>ses. The<br />

cl<strong>as</strong>sification system will be underpinned by a range of biological quality elements,<br />

supported by me<strong>as</strong>urements of physico-chemistry, hydrology and morphology. As<br />

a prerequisite to remediation accurate estimates of the relative sources of diffuse<br />

pollutants must be made. For diffuse pollutants this presents a particular challenge<br />

due to the flow proportional nature of diffuse loads and concentrations (Figure 2).<br />

16

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