The role of groundwater in adapting to climate change and increasing resilience to drought in Eastern Scotland
Groundwater resources are critical in the resilience to hydrological extremes and more specifically, to drought. In response to recent conditions, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency has had to temporarily suspend some abstraction permits in the worst affected catchments under significant water scarcity status. Research under this project aims at assessing the resilience of private water supplies from groundwater drought in Eastern Scotland, the region most affected by drought induced water scarcity and the most reliant on groundwater resources for private domestic, agricultural and industrial needs. The project will produce a hydrogeological mapping assessment of Eastern Scotland’s resilience of groundwater and highlight opportunities for sustainable use of shallow groundwater and development of deeper groundwater resources to address future water scarcity under more frequent extreme climate events.
