The quality of public drinking water supplies in Scotland remains amongst the highest in the world, a report has found.
In its annual report, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland said that 99.91% of samples passed stringent water quality tests a significant improvement on 2002, the year Scottish Water was formed, when 99.28% of tests complied.
Scottish Water analyses samples of drinking water from across Scotland 365 days a year. A total of 311,560 regulatory tests were carried out on Scotland’s drinking water in 2016.
Sue Petch, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator, said:
“Consumers can be confident that when they turn on the tap, the product they receive meets some of the strictest water quality standards in the world. I am also pleased to report that the service consumers receive from Scottish Water when they do have an issue with the quality of their water supply has improved in recent years.
“This year I have been struck by the many excellent initiatives within the company to apply science to gain a better understanding of water quality and treatment processes. This work will deliver benefits in ensuring processes are more resilient and improve the service received by consumers. I am especially keen to see a reduction in the number of water quality incidents reported to us by Scottish Water.”
Added Kenneth Gibson:
“Scotland is rightly famous for the quality of our water and, of course, one of the most important of our products is uisge-beatha, the ‘water of life’ - whisky - which is so important for Scotland’s image, economy and the UK Treasury.
“We should, for our own good health, drink a lot more of Scotland’s delicious H2O in its natural state. So raise a glass to one resource we know will never run out – Scotland’s water.”
ENDS
