£26m boost for EK water supply

Scottish Water is set to begin the first phase of a £26million project to improve the water supply to thousands of residents in East Kilbride.

Households and businesses in East Kilbride, alongside Newton Mearns and Eaglesham, are currently served by the Picketlaw WaterTreatmentWorks.

The project will see their supply switched from the Eaglesham plant to Drumoyhill and Daer.

To make the change, over 13.5 miles of new pipes will be installed between Newton Mearns and East Kilbride, starting on March 6 on Mearns Road in Newton Mearns at the junction of Broomvale Drive.

Georgina Reid from Scottish Water told us:“Picketlaw is approaching the end of its operational life, and we are committed to improving services and ensuring water quality to our customers.

“Most of the work will be carried out in fields and grassland, however, around three miles will be laid along Mearns Road from the junction with Kinnaird Avenue to just before the Ayr Road A77 intersection.”

It will then move – on a rolling programme – along Mearns Road to the roundabout leading onto the A726 and over the Glasgow Southern Orbital to continue onto Mearns Road.

Road closures, temporary traffic lights, diversions and some access and parking restrictions will be in place.

This section of the project is expected to be completed by

March 2024, at which point, the customers, who are switched over to Drumoyhill, will be supplied with water which has been chloraminated rather than their usual chlorinated supply.

Ms Reid added:“It’s important to say that chloramination is a tried and tested method of treating drinking water.

“It is currently used to supply over a million of our customers throughout Scotland and is widely used in the water industry, throughout the UK and worldwide.”