Piped by Us. Owned by You

overlay

EVERY DROP WELL SPENT

Scottish Water is owned by you, the Scottish public. Every penny you invest flows back into Scotland’s water.

Water is vital to everyday life. It’s Scotland’s most precious resource and we are dedicated to protecting it. From coping with climate change to upgrading our infrastructure, we work tirelessly to keep your water flowing – now and for the future.

THE VALUE OF PUBLIC OWNERSHIP

We are all proud of Scotland’s water. It tastes great, and compared to our southern neighbours’ it makes your hair softer and doesn’t fur up the kettle! We are lucky to have such great water, why then, do we take it for granted? Did you know that Scottish Water belongs to you? Yes, it truly does. Scottish Water is publicly owned so every penny is invested – currently around £800m a year – in infrastructure to keep our water the way you like it. 
Play

Help Us, Help You

Everything we all do impacts the environment, so we are working hard to keep our water and wastewater services as sustainable as possible. You can help, and together we can make a difference. Water is always worth saving – and helps save energy and money. For example, taking a shorter shower saves water and around £130 on your annual energy bill.

THE PROCESS OF MAKING WORLD CLASS WATER

Every day we deliver over 1.5 billion litres of clear, fresh drinking water to your taps. Our services support communities across Scotland; delivering water to more than 5 million customers, over 30,000 miles of water pipes across 2,000 treatment works.

The quality of our drinking water remains high – we carry out, on average, 1 quality test every 2 minutes. Delve in to find out more by clicking the numbers below…

1

Collecting water

Yep, we’ve heard it before, “it rains loads in Scotland, so it’s just a case of collecting it and delivering it to our taps.” Well, it’s not quite that simple. But one part of that statement is correct. In Scotland all our water comes from rain. From there two things happen:

 Water flows into streams, rivers, lochs and reservoirs. This is surface water.
 Water can also seep into the ground, forming pools. This water can be very pure, as many pollutants are naturally filtered out. This is called ground water. Ground water supplies most of our customers. A few receive their tap water from surface water sources.
Find out more
2

Treating water

Treatment depends on where the water has come from. Surface and ground waters do contain some naturally occurring substances. Each water source has unique characteristics and requires a tailored treatment process to make sure it’s safe for you to drink. All water goes through a rigorous 6-point treatment process: screening, aeration, clarification, filtration, disinfection, PH adjustment.
Find out more
3

Fixing leaks

Climate change and different weather patterns make it harder to deliver the water and waste water services Scotland needs. We’re investing over £800 million a year so everyone can do the things they value most in their lives. We are working to make sure we can meet future challenges, especially around climate change, maintaining and replacing ageing infrastructure, and reducing carbon emissions.
Find out more
4

Testing water

To ensure Scottish Water continue to provide the cool, fresh water we know and love to our customers’ taps, testing our water supplies every day is a vital part of our job. Though an unseen activity, our scientific services team, on average, carry out one water quality test per minute! From your tap to our labs, water quality is tested in several areas. The chemistry team trace compound levels impacting taste and odour, while microbiology oversee the protection of public health and drinking water quality by testing for bacteria. We don’t just test drinking water though; we also test wastewater and business effluent to ensure we continue to comply with environmental regulations.
Find out more
1
2
3
4
1

Collecting water

Yep, we’ve heard it before, “it rains loads in Scotland, so it’s just a case of collecting it and delivering it to our taps.” Well, it’s not quite that simple. But one part of that statement is correct. In Scotland all our water comes from rain. From there two things happen:

 Water flows into streams, rivers, lochs and reservoirs. This is surface water.
 Water can also seep into the ground, forming pools. This water can be very pure, as many pollutants are naturally filtered out. This is called ground water. Ground water supplies most of our customers. A few receive their tap water from surface water sources. Find out more
2

Treating water

Treatment depends on where the water has come from. Surface and ground waters do contain some naturally occurring substances. Each water source has unique characteristics and requires a tailored treatment process to make sure it’s safe for you to drink. All water goes through a rigorous 6-point treatment process: screening, aeration, clarification, filtration, disinfection, PH adjustment. Find out more
3

Fixing leaks

Climate change and different weather patterns make it harder to deliver the water and waste water services Scotland needs. We’re investing over £800 million a year so everyone can do the things they value most in their lives. We are working to make sure we can meet future challenges, especially around climate change, maintaining and replacing ageing infrastructure, and reducing carbon emissions. Find out more
4

Testing water

To ensure Scottish Water continue to provide the cool, fresh water we know and love to our customers’ taps, testing our water supplies every day is a vital part of our job. Though an unseen activity, our scientific services team, on average, carry out one water quality test per minute! From your tap to our labs, water quality is tested in several areas. The chemistry team trace compound levels impacting taste and odour, while microbiology oversee the protection of public health and drinking water quality by testing for bacteria. We don’t just test drinking water though; we also test wastewater and business effluent to ensure we continue to comply with environmental regulations. Find out more
Step 1

TIPS ON USING WATER WISELY

As Scottish Water is publicly owned, the water we provide is YOURS, so please look after it. There are lots of quick and easy things you can do to waste less water. To get you started we have pulled together some top tips in the articles below.

View all tips & help
View all tips & help