Scots can raise a glass as quality of drinking water remains high

Drinking water quality in Scotland remains high, according to the regulator’s annual report.

The Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland’s latest report shows Scottish Water’s compliance with drinking water standards was 99.91% for 2017, the same as for the two previous years.

The figures are based on 141,097 samples taken at consumers’ taps.

Complaints from people about their drinking water quality have fallen to a record low of 9,239, down from 10,659 in 2016, and half the number reported in 2012.

More than half (51%) of the complaints were about discoloured water.

The number of samples failing from service reservoirs increased, however, and three times in 2017 consumers were advised to boil water as a precaution until the problem was investigated.

Scottish Water has increased the amount it spends on maintaining reservoirs as their condition was found to be the reason for more than half of the failures.

Drinking Water Quality Regulator Sue Petch said: “I am pleased to report that the quality of the drinking water supplied by Scottish Water continues to be high.”

She believes performance can be further improved by minimising the amount of lead in drinking water supplies, reducing metals that cause discolouration, and cutting the formation of by-products of disinfection.