15 January 2009

A watchdog report has revealed that many of Scotland's rivers and lochs, including the river Leven and Loch Lomond, are failing to meet environmental cleanliness targets.

Both the River Spey and River Tay failed to reach the top two levels of a new European grading framework, while investigators from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency have branded the rivers Dee and Forth as "poor".

The last 15 kilometers of the River Clyde was given the poorest rating possible. Loch Leven reached the level of "bad/fail" while Loch Lomond only achieved a "moderate rating". Over half the waterways and coastlines in the nation meet the criteria for "good and better' but 38% of the Scotland's water falls below this level.

The report warns that hundreds of prominent waterways are expected not to achieve "good" status by 2015. The River Spey which runs through Scotland's whisky area is not likely to be appointed top level status.