The Devonian sandstone aquifer of Fife has long been recognised as one of the most important
hydrogeological units in Scotland. Its importance was first acknowledged by Earp and Eden (1961),
and the aquifer was later described by Foster et al (1976). Data were subsequently gathered together
in map form (BGS, 1986) but little analysis of the aquifer was carried out other than a dissertation
prepared by Barker (1981), occasional reports on specific issues such as nitrate pollution (e.g. Frost
and Sargent, 1993; MacDonald, 1993; Ball, 1994), and the preparation of the 1: 100 000 scale Aquifer
Vulnerability Map of Fife (SEPA, 1999).
The aquifer currently supplies some 20 Ml/d during the winter, rising to 40 Ml/d in the summer
months, when irrigation boreholes are put into use. Groundwater provides an important back up to
public water supplies, particularly during dry years when river abstraction is restricted. Despite this,
relatively little is known about the overall renewable resource potential of the aquifer. It is also only
in recent years that means of safeguarding groundwater from pollution have been investigated in any
detail.
Renewed interest in the aquifer is now being driven on two fronts. The first is that the East of
Scotland Water Authority (ESWA) needs to expand its source provision due to increasing demand.
The second is that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) needs to look more closely at
the aquifer potential if in the future groundwater abstraction licensing is introduced in significant
aquifers (Robins and Ball, 1998). In addition, the requirements of the proposed EU Water Framework
Directive indicate that a greater understanding of the aquifer and the sources it supplies will be needed
in order to implement properly integrated surface and groundwater management on a catchment basis.
With these goals in mind, the East of Scotland Water Authority, Scottish Environment Protection
Agency and NERC have jointly commissioned this preliminary study of the Eden valley aquifer
