Refreshingly clear: The 3,000 reasons why Scots enjoy world-class water straight from our taps
We go behind the scenes to meet the expert team of scientists ensuring Scottish Water is the best in glass Scientists’ tests protect country’s natural wonder
When we turn on our tap and clear, fresh drinking water pours out, we usually don’t give it a second thought. But there is a whole army of specialists making this happen as they work to maintain the high quality of Scotland’s drinking water. Located in Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University Research Park is Juniper House, one of two large laboratories in the country tasked with sampling and testing Scotland’s water (the other is in Henderson Drive, Inverness). There are 340 staff working here, each a skilled chemist or biologist responsible for quality testing, inspecting and analysing our drinking water. Each day between 400 and 500 samples go through rigorous tests at Juniper House. When they arrive in myriad bottles, they are labelled and wheeled to the Quantitative and Qualitative Taste and Odour Room for the taste testers. Unlike Juniper House’s other laboratories, the wearing of white lab coats is forbidden in this room to prevent cross contamination. Each sample is heated to 25°C before being decanted into glass goblets with a cap on top. “It’s like a beehive with everyone in the colony working together,” says Sarah Hutchison, laboratories team leader, who explained nothing is left to chance as each one of the tasters is trained to pick up any abnormal odours and tastes on their noses and tongues, and that each sample is tested by three different tasters. Tasters have a list of describing words to use for smells such as “fruity”, “musty” or even “cucumber”. These tests are regarded as the most important on the premises, explained Sarah, “because taste and odour are among the first things customers will notice about the quality of their water”, and, like sommeliers tasting wine, great care and attention is taken by Scottish Water’s master tasters during this process. As one of the youngest senior scientists in the labs, Sarah’s colleague, microbiologist Sarah Sinclair has an important role to play as the eyes, nose and mouth of the organisation in her job as a trained taste tester. Sarah, who has been at Scottish Water since graduating, said: “We’re doing this to make sure the water that comes out your tap is safe, clean, high quality drinking water. “We’re very lucky in this country as a lot of countries don’t have the facilities or expertise as Scottish Water does. I love my role, especially the practical side. There’s never a boring moment in ‘micro’ [microbiology], every day is different. “I feel we’re doing a public service so I do feel responsible. People take it for granted that you turn on the tap and get clear, fresh drinking water – we help make that happen.” Chief scientist Elise Cartmell added: “Everyone’s water is tested, wherever they are in the country. Samples in the north of Scotland travel to our Inverness laboratory to ensure those in the Highlands and Islands receive the same high standard of service as they do in Edinburgh. “Half of our 340-strong workforce is doing testing and analysis, the other 170 people are in technical logistics, out sampling every single day of the year.” Today, no other country’s water supply is given the stringent testing that goes on
in Scotland, making Scottish water “the most tested water in the world”, says the chief scientist – consistently reaching almost 100 per cent with 99.91 per cent of tests taken at customers’ taps complying with strict regulatory standards. In addition to tasting, samples from across Scotland are given further testing in the Incubator Room by scientists in white coats, using Petri dishes and agar plates. Hutchison explained: “This is where the magic happens. A team of eight analysts work up to 10pm at night if required to ensure drinking water is safe to drink.” In a bid to further detect any unwanted bacteria in each of the 400500 samples, they are tested in six different ways, thus ensuring the quality. “In a nutshell, we have got it covered,” added Hutchison. A chartered microbiologist, she has amassed 25 years’ experience in laboratories in the food and drink industry so has more knowledge of what happens behind the scenes than most, and this has had an impact on her lifestyle. For example, when she worked for a dairy company, it prompted her to go “dairy free”, and when she worked for a chicken factory, she stopped eating poultry altogether. But confident in the quality of our drinking water in Scotland, Hutchison is a huge supporter of Scottish Water’s Your Water Your Life campaign, which is encouraging more Scots to top up from the tap. She said: “Scottish water is the only product I have worked with that I still consume to this day, and always will.”