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River Tweed Impact Assessment of Abstraction
River Tweed Impact Assessment of Abstraction
Investigating the River Tweed Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Grontmij ecologists undertook a detailed series of desk and fieldwork based investigations to:
• Provide information on the baseline ecological distribution and status of the River Tweed SAC features: Atlantic salmon, brook, river and sea Lamprey and Ranunculion-Callitricho-Batrachion communities.
• Provide an understanding of the hydrological requirements of SAC features (based on Natura 2000 documentation) and assessment of the potential mechanisms of impact from abstraction and specific areas of risk from Scottish Water abstraction in the Tweed system.
• Undertake detailed River Habitat Surveys, aquatic macrophyte and electro fishing surveys to fill gaps in the understanding of the current condition of SAC features in the vicinity of abstractions and in areas where Scottish National Heritage have expressed concern that negative effects on the key SAC features may be related to a Scottish Water’s abstractions.
Meeting government requirements
The project formed a key part of Scottish Water’s response to the Scottish Government’s requirement to resolve any issues relating to the Birds and Habitats Directives, with key milestone reporting to the Scottish Parliament. Key stakeholders included Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage.