Speaking to delegates at the Water Scotland conference today, MacDonald said that a meeting between Scottish Water and SEPA to discuss strategic issues was scheduled for later this month.
According to MacDonald, SEPA is working with Scottish Water to reduce pollution run-off and reduce surface water outflows “from a number of industrial areas”.
“Constructing and retrofitting sustainable urban drainage systems is not feasible in many of these estates due to the lack of available land. Consequently, Scottish Water and SEPA have agreed a strategy to address water quality problems in a much more integrated way,” he said.
MacDonald said SEPA and Scottish Water would “assess these risks and make recommendations for appropriate interventions at each individual industrial site”.
He also used the example of an upgrade to Glasgow’s waste water system, where SEPA has been working with Scottish Water over the past four years to “support the development of a 21st century plan”, as testament to the two companies’ shared ideology.
This has involved computer modelling carried out by Scottish Water and SEPA to understand the behaviour of the River Clyde.
According to MacDonald, both organisations have considered the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the project as well as considering the “sensitivities” surrounding pollution.