Annex 3: Compendium of Baseline Data
Water quality and flooding
Water quality and flooding
Water Quality
Operations and processes which could cause water pollution require to be licenced through the Water Environment (Controlled Activities)
(Scotland) Regulations. These include:
Drumcooper Opencast Site
Lochhead Quarry
Lochhead Lanfill
Devilla Forrest Quarry
Burrowine Quarry
Longannet Power Station
Source: SEPA
Bathing beaches
Aberdour (Silver Sands)
Significant recent investments
None
Mostly excellent with occasional good
Source: SEPA
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Annex 3: Compendium of Baseline Data
Water quality and flooding
Water Quality Map
Source: SEPA Draft Area Management Plan 2009-2015 (Forth)
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Annex 3: Compendium of Baseline Data
Water quality and flooding
River quality
The water courses in the Local Plan area drain southwards to the Firth of Forth. They provide the natural resources to support a range of activities in
the area and provide a suitable habitat for plant and animal life to flourish. Past industrialisation has impacted on the water quality of surface waters
and on their quantity and physical nature. There are distinct pressures arising from increased urbanisation and the rural areas also contribute different
pressures including diffuse pollution and abstractions.
The introduction of River Basin Management Plans by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) revises the approach to river water quality.
Information on water quality is set out in the Forth Area Management Plan 2009 – 2015 and this will be rolled forward. Water quality will monitored and
reported upon by SEPA. The forecast is that the river water quality and coastal waters are likely to improve but improvements in loch and estuarial
waters is not expected to increase unless reductions in nutrient input can be secured.
The major issues to be addressed include nutrient enrichment, changes to physical habitat, changes to water flow and water levels, toxic substances
and elevated iron levels. The latter is a concern in the former mining areas but The Coal Authority is working to address this issue.
There are concerns about elevated phorphorus levels in Loch Fitty on the edge of the Plan area which can be addressed by implementing catchment
management plans. The Forth Estuary waters are affected by turbidity which restricts plant growth and there are concerns the less than good quality
due to elevated nutrient levels at the Forth Bridges area derived from inputs upstream. There are areas of heavily modified estuaries on the edge of
the Local Plan area derived from the creation of the ash lagoons on mudflats near Torryburn and the construction of harbour / port developments for
example Crombie, Rosyth and Inverkeithing Bay. There are adverse effects on fish cause by abstraction of cooling water by Longannet Power Station.
This operation also discharges large quantities of hot water into the estuary.
Source: SEPA
Designated shellfish waters
There are no designated shellfish waters off the coast of the Dunfermline and West Fife Local Plan area.
Water treatment infrastructure
There are limits in the capacity of waster treatment plants throughout the area. Capacity improvements do not necessarily involve increasing the
volume of waste water which can be treated. In some cases investment in the removal of pollutants can allow a higher level of throughput.
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Annex 3: Compendium of Baseline Data
Water quality and flooding
There are further constraints in some older built up areas arising from the limited capacity of combined sewer overflows. These are found in areas
where surface water drainage is combined in a single system with sewerage, and are designed to release overflow drainage water direct into water
courses in periods of heavy rainfall. Some of the overflow may contain untreated sewage. Such restrictions may be overcome in a variety of ways,
including more extensive provision of Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDS) systems to reduce flows, re-routing to sewers with greater capacity, and
introduction of storage to spread the flow over a longer period.
Water supply infrastructure
The capacity of water supply varies throughout the area but Scottish Water is working towards resolving capacity restrictions in a number of areas.
Information sources
SEPA: Water quality classification scheme (2006)
SEPA: Scottish bathing waters annual report (2007)
SEPA: Groundwater assessment tools (2004)
Mapped data
200 year flood risk - source: SEPA, 2006, available at: <http://www.sepa.org.uk/flooding/mapping/>
Scottish Water Asset Capacity and Development Plan: Waste water treatment plan for Fife 2007 and Water plan for Fife 2007 are available at
<http://www.scottishwater.co.uk/portal/page/portal/
SWE_PGP_CONNECTIONS/SWE_CORP_CONNECTIONS/SWE_CORP_STRATEGIC_PLANNING>
Groundwater
Groundwater: Assessment Tools
These are tools developed to assess risks to groundwater.
Maps on:
_ Superficial Aquifers;
_ Bedrock Aquifers; and
_ Groundwater Vulnerability
are available to view at http://www.sepa.org.uk/groundwater/tools/index.htm
H
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Annex 3: Compendium of Baseline Data
Water quality and flooding
The area to the east of Dunfermline within
the Local Plan is largely underlain by
sedimentary rock with igneous intrusions.
Whilst there is a considerable about of
past igneous activity throughtout the Local
Plan area to the west of Dunfermline the
concentration is lower. The main
geological feature is a the eastern edge of
a basin which dips westwards. This
contains a number of coals which have
been mined. The result of mining is that
the ground water in these geological units
tend to be polluted, especially due to the
presence of feruginous materials. Waters
within the other stratigraphical units tend
to be of much better quality.
The superficial deposits tend to be clays
which tend to be fairly impervious.
Areas where groundwater is vulnerable to
pollution may be unsuitable for some
types of development, such as landfill,
major industrial uses or high levels of
water abstraction.
Additional care may be required in the
design of SUDS schemes, renewable
energy systems using geo-thermal heat
and major engineering projects and major
developments. But the high flows through
inter-granular material may provide a good
level of attenuation reducing vulnerability for appropriate developments.
Source: SEPA: aquifer productivity table
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Flooding
The long coastline makes the area potentially vulnerable to flooding as a result of rising sea levels. The Scottish Executive has predicted that levels
may rise by 150mm by 2050 as a result of global climate change. Many of the communities around the coast have man-made protection, although in
most this is mainly designed to stop erosion – buildings are generally located well above the high water mark. A major study carried out in 1998
concluded that a strategy of maintenance, or in selected areas no action wasa appropriate. But this study did not take into account the effects of
climate change. The major impact of climate change is nevertheless most likely to be on areas of nature conservation interest, which will not generally
be affected by developmen directly, or indirectly.
The SEPA web site provides maps showing areas at risk from flooding. The areas at risk from coastal flooding are identified as Fife boundary to
Culross including parts of Kincardine, a small area at Low Torry, and small area at Charlestown, parts of the Rosyth Waterfront and parts of
Inverkeithing Bay. A number of settlements are shown to be at risk from river flooding in the event of 1 in 200 year return flood event, including parts of
Kincardine, Cairneyhill, Torryburn, Dunfermline, Rosyth and Aberdour and a number of areas including lands to the north of Kincardine, along the
Torry Burn, along the Bluther Burn, along the Lyne Water south of Crossford, the Fordell Burn and Keithing Burn, and, the Dour Burn.
A number of the water courses within the area are contained as they pass through built up areas, to prevent flooding. There has been recent
investment in a flood prevention scheme in Dunfermline.
There is a potential impact of increased precipitation caused by global climate change on existing flood defences. Whilst SEPA’s flood maps reflect the
threat from 1 in 200 year flood events the areas potentially at risk from flooding due to overtopping of defences designed to prevent episodes, when
the previous 1 in 100 year return risk was applicable, have not been assessed.
Source: Fife Council
Source: Fife Council