Water Use in Distilling
Cooling, not whisky itself, accounted for about 90% of water use in SEPA’s historical analysis of malt distilling in Scotland.[4] Much of that water returned to its original watercourse warmer than it arrived. To understand a distillery’s water footprint, follow the whole journey: what enters the spirit, what cools the equipment, what cleans it and what flows back into the river.[2][4]
Where the water goes
Water is “one of just three ingredients” of Scotch whisky, as the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) puts it. But its work extends well beyond the recipe. The SWA’s Water Stewardship Framework also identifies cooling and cleaning as production uses.[1][2] Water entering production and water passing through a cooling system need separate accounts.
| Use | What the evidence establishes | What to look for in reporting |
|---|---|---|
| Production | About 10% of malt distilling water use in SEPA’s sector analysis.[4] | Production water distinguished from total site water |
| Cooling | About 90% in the same analysis, normally returned to its original watercourse at a higher temperature.[4] | Quantity taken and conditions of return |
| Cleaning | Identified as a water use by the SWA.[1][2] | Whether cleaning is included in the total |
These historical sector figures show the difference in scale between production and cooling. They are not a fixed ratio for every distillery today.[4]
That distinction also explains why “most water ends up in the bottle” is misleading. Cooling can dominate a headline total, even when much of the water returns to the watercourse rather than becoming part of the spirit.[4] The total matters, but so does the route the water takes.
For the wider picture, see sustainability in whisky. Within that picture, water deserves a clear account of its own, rather than a place inside a single sweeping environmental claim.
Borrowed water still needs managing
Story: One river, several distilleries
Verdict: Documented. SEPA’s analysis says the same cooling water may be used by several distilleries as it flows downstream.[4]
What the record shows: SEPA describes cooling water as “borrowed and returned unchanged apart from some uplift in temperature, normally to its original watercourse”.[4]
Gap: The report’s publication date, the earliest source of this account and the exact day it was checked still need confirmation.
Source and claim mapping: SEPA, An economic analysis of water use in the Scotland river basin district, supports both the return flow and downstream reuse statements: https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/37271/economic-analysis_water-use_scotland.pdf. Checked November 2026.
“Borrowed” neatly describes the movement. The temperature rise explains why that movement still needs managing. SEPA’s current discharge guidance specifically addresses distillery cooling water with chemical or temperature implications for the environment.[12]
A sound water account follows both directions. How much did the distillery take from the river? Where did it return the water, and at what temperature? Return flows belong in the assessment even when the water never becomes an ingredient.
Equally, counting every litre abstracted as permanently removed misrepresents the process. SEPA’s account of downstream reuse makes that clear.[4] Good reporting keeps abstraction, production use and return flows visibly separate, allowing the reader to see both the demand on the river and what comes back.
What litres per litre of alcohol means
A litre of alcohol is not a litre of bottled whisky. That is the essential distinction when reading the SWA’s efficiency target, expressed in litres of water per litre of alcohol, abbreviated l/lpa.[1] The measure relates water use to alcohol production rather than giving the site’s water total alone.
Before comparing two figures, check that they measure the same thing. Identical units can conceal different scopes if one report includes water uses that another leaves out.
Four questions make a useful reading test:
- Does the figure describe total site water, production water or another defined measure?
- Is it expressed against litres of alcohol, rather than litres of finished product?
- Is it a measured result, a target or a proposed improvement?
- Does the report identify its period and explain what changed?
These questions separate ambition from achievement. They are a reading method, not an additional industry standard, and are particularly useful when a percentage improvement appears without a starting point or a clear scope. A result becomes much more informative when the reader can see what was counted and when.
Scotland’s water targets and reported progress
The SWA reported a 22% improvement in water efficiency, measured in l/lpa, between 2012 and 2023.[1][3] That is reported progress. Its ambition for 2025 was a separate matter.
The association launched its Water Stewardship Framework on 10 July 2023, with three areas: Responsible use, Engagement and Collaboration, and Advocacy. Together, they place site efficiency alongside work with others and wider water policy.[1]
The stated target was 12.5 to 25 litres of water per litre of alcohol by 2025, depending on distillery size and production.[1] The SWA’s 2021 sustainability strategy had set the ambition that all producers would fall within a responsible water use range by 2025.[3] Whether all producers reached that range is not reliably established.
The framework commits the SWA to reviewing the target range every two years and reporting annually on water management. It also commits the association to working with SEPA to identify “at risk” catchments and develop site operational plans for them.[2]
Watch that catchment work alongside the efficiency figures. It looks beyond the distillery boundary to the surrounding water system, where a site’s performance means more than an isolated ratio.
Why a wetter Scotland can still face scarcity
Scotland can become wetter on average and still face more water scarcity. Adaptation Scotland reports that average rainfall during 2014 to 2023 was 10% higher than during 1961 to 1990, with winters 29% wetter.[10] The same publication cites a warning from the James Hutton Institute’s Centre of Expertise for Waters: water scarcity events in Scotland could double by 2050.[10]
The figures answer different questions. A wetter national average does not establish that a particular catchment has enough water whenever a distillery needs it. The practical question is what conditions affect the local supply and the watercourse receiving the return flow.
Temperature adds another constraint. Adaptation Scotland says distillery operations “may need to slow or pause” if discharge temperatures exceed regulatory limits.[10] Availability at the intake and acceptable conditions at discharge therefore need to be considered together. Scarcity is not simply a matter of how much water can be drawn.
This is where a site’s efficiency claim meets its local setting. A reduction in water use is useful information; the accompanying plan should also explain how the distillery addresses scarcity and discharge conditions.
The Scottish rules changed in November 2025
On 1 November 2025, Scotland’s water activities moved from the CAR framework to the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018, known as EASR. SEPA says CAR licences automatically became EASR permits on that date, while EASR general binding rules replaced CAR general binding rules.[6]
| Rule or requirement | Where it applies | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Activity 2 covers abstraction of less than 10 m³ in any one day, at least 50 metres from an existing water supply well, spring or borehole | Scotland, under EASR Schedule 9, Part 1, Chapter 2 | Official legislative text, amended in 2025; checked November 2026.[5] |
| SEPA requires permits for relevant distillery effluent discharges, including cooling water with chemical or temperature implications | Scotland | SEPA discharge guidance; checked November 2026.[12] |
| Non-compliance with permit conditions is an offence | Scotland | SEPA discharge guidance; checked November 2026.[12] |
The small-abstraction provision must be read with its conditions. The volume threshold alone does not describe a distillery’s permissions.[5]
Keep regulatory permissions separate from industry efficiency targets, too. A target concerns improvement; a permission sets the conditions governing an activity. Meeting or pursuing one does not explain the requirements of the other.
Saving water without overlooking energy and effluent
Saving water can carry an energy cost. SEPA’s historical sector analysis described cooling towers as “not environmentally desirable on account of the heavy energy use required”.[4] That assessment belongs to the report, rather than serving as a verdict on every water-saving design.
For any proposed change, ask for both figures: the water reduction and the associated energy demand. The guide to energy in whisky production explores the energy question in more detail.
Irish whiskey’s industry roadmap connects water and effluent through its principle, “Less-water-in, Less-effluent-out”. It includes reducing the biological oxygen demand, or BOD, of trade effluent.[11] Less water entering a site is only part of the account; the effluent leaving it needs attention of its own.
The Irish Whiskey Association’s 2022 roadmap sets an initial maximum of 25 L/LPA for pot and malt distilleries, followed by 20 L/LPA, with grain distillation targets 50% lower. These are association targets, not statutory limits.[11]
The roadmap’s examples show why precise measures matter. Great Northern Distillery reported an 80% reduction in BOD discharge per LPA since 2016. Slane Distillery treats roof rainwater for process water.[11] One describes an effluent result, the other a water source: the BOD reduction should not be presented as a percentage reduction in water use.
For the material leaving production, read draff and pot ale. Keeping these flows distinct makes both water and by-product reporting easier to follow.
Where to go next
- Climate Change and Barley: Can Whisky's Grain Adapt?: follow the climate question into whisky’s grain supply.
- Lightweight Glass, Packaging and Greenwashing: examine another area where environmental claims need clearly defined evidence.
- Wood and Cask Sustainability: explore the environmental questions surrounding whisky casks.
Sources
[1] Scotch Whisky Association. Whisky industry launches Water Stewardship Framework. 10 July 2023.
https://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/newsroom/whisky-industry-launches-water-stewardship-framework/
[2] Scotch Whisky Association. Water Stewardship Framework. July 2023.
https://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/media/2118/water-stewardship-framework-july-2023.pdf
[3] Scotch Whisky Association. Scotch Whisky Commits to Reach Net-Zero by 2040 with Launch of New Sustainability Strategy. 2021.
https://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/newsroom/scotch-whisky-commits-to-reach-net-zero-by-2040-with-launch-of-new-sustainability-strategy/
[4] Scottish Environment Protection Agency. An economic analysis of water use in the Scotland river basin district. Publication year not reliably established in the supplied record.
https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/37271/economic-analysis_water-use_scotland.pdf
[5] legislation.gov.uk. The Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018, SSI 2018/219, Schedule 9, Part 1, Chapter 2, inserted by SSI 2025/165 with effect from 1 November 2025.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2018/219/schedule/9/part/1/chapter/2
[6] Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Moving to the new Regulations. Guidance concerning the transition on 1 November 2025.
https://beta.sepa.scot/regulation/authorisations-and-compliance/easr-authorisations/moving-to-the-new-regulations/
[10] Adaptation Scotland. Climate change risks and adaptation in the Scotch Whisky sector. Publication year not reliably established in the supplied record.
https://adaptation.scot/app/uploads/2025/08/low-res-6437-as-scotch-whisky.pdf
[11] Drinks Ireland, Irish Whiskey Association. Sustainable Together: Sustainability Roadmap 2022. 2022.
https://www.ibec.ie/drinksireland/-/media/documents/drinks-ireland-new-website/irish-whiskey/iwa-sustainability-roadmap-2022.pdf
[12] Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Discharge of all other effluent. Current EASR guidance as recorded in the supplied fact sheet, November 2026.
https://beta.sepa.scot/regulation/authorisations-and-compliance/easr-authorisations/water-activities/discharges/discharge-of-all-other-effluent/
This desk-researched article uses the supplied verified fact sheet, distinguishing industry targets and reported results from regulatory requirements and historical sector estimates.
Last checked: November 2026