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SOAK UP THE RAIN
Everyone knows it rains in Scotland. But did you know we now have 13% more
rainfall than 100 years ago? Yet our summers are getting drier. What’s going on with
our weather? And how can you help a little to adapt to big changes in our climate?
Rain in palm
HOW WEIRD IS THE WEATHER?
The winter in 2004 was very dry. And so were spring and summer in 2005. But that winter was very wet and unseasonably warm. Then in 2026 we had snow… at Easter.
Most days, you can tell climate change is real just by looking out of your window. But what’s really happening in Scotland is harder to see.
According to Met Office data, it now rains 27% more than it did in the 1960s. There are over 8 days more ‘heavy rain’ too. That’s a dramatic shift over a short period.
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You’ll feel the change mostly in our winters. There will be more rainy days, and heavier rain. On the other hand, summers will tend to be drier. (For example, the east coast around Dundee was very dry in 2005.) Yet, when it rains, it may fall harder and faster.
In other words, we’re in for wetter winters with more risk of flooding. Then summers may have longer dry spells with more risk of drought… (And, just to keep you on your toes, there will be lighter rain and occasional ‘cats and dogs’ )
You’d think that dry weather followed by heavy rain would be better than constant drizzle. But sudden downpours and stormwater can run off the hills instead of soaking in.
Your roof, garden paving, streets and roads all send stormwater to the sewers all at once. That’s why, at times, some areas can face overall water scarcity… and flash floods. It sounds daft, but it’s true.
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SCOTLAND'S BRILLIANT WATER SYSTEM
As a nation, we’re rightly proud of our Scotland’s water. We have some of the world’s most beautiful natural landscapes, including fast flowing rivers and deep, chilly lochs.
Yet our water resources aren’t infinite. We rely on ‘supply from the sky’. Clear blue skies and longer dry spells in summer mean less rain – and, in some areas, less rain has an impact on the availability of water.
Scottish Water also needs to screen, clean and purify every drop of water that we pipe to homes and businesses – around 1.8 billion litres a day. It’s no small task.
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The problem with ‘cats and dogs’
So, isn’t heavier rainfall a good thing? Not really. Our drainage system was never designed to cope with 27% more rainwater. And rapid downpours are becoming more common too.
It’s important to stop sewage backing up into your home. So, when the system is at risk of being overwhelmed by stormwater, the sewers are forced to overflow more frequently into rivers or the sea. It’s far from ideal but in most cases the overflow is around 99% rainwater and 1% wastewater from toilets.
On the other hand, since our cities and town have a lot of hard paving, there’s nothing to help soak up the rain. And since water flows downhill, low lying streets in hilly cities such as Edinburgh, Dundee and Stirling are at risk of flooding.
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Climate adaption – what we’re doing
Not surprisingly with so much rain, the number of properties at risk of flooding in Scotland will double by 2050.
Scottish Water is investing around £1 billion a year to ensure Scotland’s water infrastructure is ready for the future. We’re doing more to monitor sewers and support at-risk communities. But the key thing is keeping surface water out of the sewer system, working together to slow the flow of stormwater during intense rains.
For example, we invested around £10m in a huge storm overflow tank in Edinburgh, dug 20 metres deep at the Meadows. The new storm tank holds up to 3.5 million litres of stormwater. It fills up during a storm and the water is pumped back into the sewer network once the rain eases.
We are also investing in a number of pilot projects designed to tackle the problem at a grassroots level. 250 homes in Prestwick, Ayrshire and 116 properties in Craigleith, Edinburgh have been offered the chance to have free planters and water butts installed.
Meanwhile, in Dundee, the Water Resilient Dundee Partnership is bringing people together to tackle climate change and help manage the problems of excess rainfall in a sustainable way.
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How you can help
It pays to be prepared for anything weather-wise in Scotland. So, in winter months, it’s probably a good idea to take a waterproof jacket and a brolly with you. With heavier rain, you might need also more home maintenance. To prevent long-term damage, it’s worth making sure your roof and windows are water-tight.
However, there are small steps you can take to help rain-proof the whole nation. One of the big problems is ‘urban creep’. All over the country, we’re replacing natural surfaces, like grass, with concrete, tarmac and paving. Fields are replaced by housing.
Gardens are replaced by monoblock drives. Lawns are replaced by paving.
Rain that used to soak into the ground now has nowhere to go, except the drain. So, in heavier rains, the sewers can get overwhelmed.
13%
more rainfall than
100 years ago
27%
more rain than
in the 1960's
x2
number of properties
at flood-risk
by 2050
£13bn
investment in the
next 7 years
to upgrade our sewers
There are a few simple things you can do to help
Lawns, plants, trees, bushes all soak up rain and slow the flow of stormwater.
This is useful in two ways. First, it holds back water from the drainage system. Second, in dry weather it gives you a ready source of water for your garden – and plants prefer rainwater anyway.
If you have space for your car at home, put in a pebble drive rather than impermeable monoblocks. There are modern mesh systems that hold the pebbles in place. They’re easy to install and look very smart. Check out Pinterest for cool ideas for permeable driveways.
a patio area seems ‘nice to have’ in summer. But it’s a hard surface. It’s riskier if a child falls on it, but rain also runs right off it. During a storm, the more paving there is locally, the more risk of drain overflows. Paving slabs are probably not as low maintenance as you think either. With all that rain over winter, your patio is more likely to go green with algae, go great with black mould or get moss in the gaps. Using chemicals to clean it (or a power washer) is probably more hassle than giving the lawn a quick mow.
Since the 1930s, the UK has lost almost all of its wildflower meadows (97%), leading directly to the decline of our wild bees. According to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, numbers are down overall by 55% – with the red-tailed bumblebee down by 74%. These are important pollinators for our food production, so it’s vital to help wild bees where you can. (Honey bees – the kind you find in hives – are not wild bees; they’re like farm animals and in hard times get fed by beekeepers!) Here are some simple tips:
A. Plant for the whole season. Early spring and autumn are tough times for wild bees which may come out of hibernation in February. Having some early and late flowering plants is lovely for you but can be a lifesaver for bees. Spring bulbs like crocus are an easy choice.
B. Choose open, simple flowers. Wild bees love flowers with a simple, flat structure, such as old cottage varieties. They are the easiest for insects to feed from. Fancy double flowers look pretty but bees often can’t access the nectar.
C. Go native trees and shrubs. These are perfect for wild bees. They provide masses of flowers in one place: apple, wild cherry, willow and hazel are all good choices.
D. Go wild on the lawn. A ‘no mow’ plan helps wildflowers grow in lawns. Even if you’ve just got a few square metres of ‘meadow’, you could double the number of bumblebees and solitary bees in your garden by the following year.
E. Think Purple: Bees can see purple better than other colours. Many of the best bee plants — lavender, alliums, buddleia, catmint — happen to have purple flowers.
F. Avoid pesticides. Common chemicals containing neonicotinoids (thiacloprid and acetamiprid) kill bees. They’re on sale at most garden centres. Read the label and avoid them.