Scottish Water 2021 Report Reveals A “Challenging & Extraordinary” Year
A new report covering the six months leading up to 30th September 2021 has revealed what a “challenging and extraordinary” year utility company Scottish Water had, faced with record-breaking hot and dry weather during the summer, coupled with severe storms that put both assets and members of staff under huge pressure.
A warning was also issued in the interim Performance and Prospects report that climate change is also expected to make these conditions and extreme weather events more frequent as time goes on.
The publication highlighted the fact that localised customer flooding and pollution events were caused by slightly higher leakage levels early in the year (down to the impact of freezing conditions), coupled with a record dry summer and intense summer storms.
In addition, mention was made of how dry and record-breaking hot weather over a prolonged period resulted in significant increases in water consumption, as well as low water resource levels and problems in some parts of the country with regards to drinking water quality.
Commenting on the findings, Scottish Water chief executive Douglas Millican said: “With my 25 years of experience in the water sector, I can honestly say the last few months have been truly extraordinary.
“While covid-19 dominated our lives last year, and we’re clearly still living with the impact of the pandemic, the dominant issue of the last six months for us has been the weather. It was a period of record-breaking extremes that severely tested our assets, networks and teams across the country and has had an inevitable impact on our customers and the environment.”
He went on to say that urgent investment is now needed in replacing ageing infrastructure, which will help make the company’s assets more resilient in the face of climate change.
Predicted changes in climate (including greater variability in rainfall and rising temperatures), as well as changes in weather patterns, will reduce water availability. But population growth means that there will be an increase in demand for water – so, unless action is taken, water shortages could potentially prove problematic in the future.
A collaborative approach between government, businesses, stakeholders and the general public will be necessary in order to mitigate the risks.
From a business perspective, there is a lot that can be done to reduce pressure on water resources, whether that’s focusing on water leak detection and repair, switching water supplier, harvesting rainwater, grey water recycling and so on.
A great first step towards improving your water footprint is having a water audit carried out across your site. This will reveal how and where you use and consume water, which will then allow you to introduce the appropriate water-saving solutions over time. If you’d like to find out more about what can be achieved, get in touch with the team at SwitchWaterSupplier.com today.