We are starting to run short of drinking water in parts of Scotland - with tankers being called in to supplement piped supplies in parts of the Isle of Skye.

Now Scottish Water is calling on people to use water as efficiently as possible in homes and gardens and help protect resources and maintain normal supplies across the country.

With forecasts of more dry, warm weather to come, they say they are working to ensure our supply systems can cope with demand, which has increased during the recent dry weather, and are urging people to help save water by:

• Using water efficiently in the garden and outdoor spaces by using a watering can instead of a garden hose where possible
• taking shorter showers
• turning the tap off when brushing teeth
• using washing machines and dishwashers only when fully loaded
• and using a bucket and sponge rather than a hose to wash the car.

Scottish Water say: "We are continuously monitoring the levels of storage throughout the country to maintain supplies, but there has been an increase in water use by customers in the past week.

"As a result, the amount of water we put into the network has had to be increased by 100 million litres per day in the past few days. That’s the equivalent of 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools or 1.2 million baths each day.

"We are individually using an average of 180 litres of water per person per day, which remains higher than pre-Covid levels and is higher than the rest of the UK where people use an average of 145 litres per person per day.

"Average reservoir levels across Scotland are at 85% and this is 4% lower than average for this time of year and 6% lower than this time last year.

"Scottish Water is working to ensure we can maintain public water supply to customers in parts of the country affected by increased peak water use and is using tankers to supplement normal water supplies in some parts of the country such as Kippen, Balfron, Gargunnock and parts of Skye," the organisation says. 

Kes Juskowiak, Scottish Water’s General Manager of Customer Water Services, said: “The recent dry weather has seen an increase in customer use and an additional 100 million litres of water had to be distributed each day across the weekend and on Monday.

“We’re working hard to maintain normal supplies for all but would ask that customers consider how they use water and to protect this precious resource.

“We believe that a large part of the additional water use is within gardens so we would ask that customers are mindful of how much water they use in outdoor spaces such as lawns.”

He added: “Water is always worth saving, so we would ask everyone to do all they can in and around the home and garden to help us keep water flowing normally to their taps. By taking simple steps to reduce the volume used around the home and garden, we can make our country’s water go even further.”

Scottish Water posts facts, tips and activities on social media to raise awareness about why we need to save water and more information on saving water is available at www.yourwateryourlife.co.uk/save

A new Chief Executive stepped into the role yesterday (June 1) at Scotland’s public water and waste water organisation.

Alex Plant succeeds Douglas Millican who was in the post for a decade. Mr Plant was previously Director of Strategy and Regulation at Anglian Water.

He was appointed by Scottish Water’s Board led by Dame Susan Rice and his selection was approved by Scottish ministers.

Mr Plant, 53, worked with Anglian Water from 2014. Previously he held positions in the Royal Mail, Cambridgeshire County Council, the Civil Aviation Authority, and HM Treasury, as well as having held several non-executive director roles.

The new Chief Executive said: “I’m both proud and excited to start my new role with Scottish Water, and plan to provide a smooth transition from Douglas Millican’s many years at the helm, leading us with confidence into the future.

“Customers, communities and the environment will remain at the heart of what we do. We face many challenges, including maintaining our very high standard of service while adapting to the impacts of climate change on our critical infrastructure.

“This will need sustained increased investment if we are to ensure future resilience. Our focus is on working with our partners to deliver a transformed service which protects and enhances the environment, provides real value for people every day and continues to deliver excellent performance in every aspect of what we do.”