Non-Agricultural River Pollution Loads in Scotland

Scotland's Water Framework Directive catchments contain annual estimates of phosphorus, sediment, nitrogen, and faecal coliform loads from non-agricultural sources. The data quantifies pollutant contributions from urban areas, woodlands, montane regions, river bank erosion, septic tanks, and sewage treatment works. Loads are reported in kilograms or colony-forming units per year.

Use Cases

• Model total phosphorus and nitrogen loads from urban and septic tank sources across Scottish catchments.
• Analyze faecal coliform contributions from sewage treatment works relative to other pollution sources.
• Assess sediment loss patterns attributed to river bank erosion and montane areas.
• Compare pollutant load distributions between woodland and urban source categories.

Strengths

• Covers multiple pollutant types: phosphorus, sediment, nitrogen, and faecal coliform.
• Includes estimates from six distinct non-agricultural source categories.
• Data is reported at the Water Framework Directive catchment scale for Scotland.

Limitations

• Load estimates are derived from modeling and available data, not direct continuous measurement.
• Sample data and specific row/column counts are unavailable for assessing dataset scale.
• Geographic scope is limited to Scotland, restricting broader UK or cross-border analysis.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Estimates based on available data (e.g., septic tank licences) and modeling (e.g., bank erosion).

Time Range

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Freshness

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Geography

Scotland, at Water Framework Directive catchment scale.