The prediction and management of water quality in a relatively unpolluted major Scottish catchment: current issues and experimental approaches

The potential impacts of diffuse pollution from atmospheric deposition and land use on the water quantity and quality of the river Dee in N.E. Scotland are currently being assessed. The importance of headwater regions for supplying a large proportion of catchment runoff with water of a high quality is clearly demonstrated. However, the quality of this water is threatened by the impact of acid deposition in a number of sub-catchments. In some of the more agriculturally developed lowland sub-catchments, there are increasing levels of nitrogen runoff. The catchment attributes, together with hydrochemical data, are being considered in terms of an ongoing research programme established to predict the impact of future environmental and land-use change scenarios.