Using a £1.6 million grant from the Scottish government, the water firm built the development centres in two of its existing treatment works and will oversee trials of innovative water treatment technologies and processes.
Tech firms will be able to test new equipment, products and processes for potential roll-out in the water sector, including treatment technology which could support Scotland’s rural communities.
At Gorthleck in the Highlands, a water development centre has been created within a former water treatment works. The facility has its own feed of raw water, with sampling collection and analysis available from Scottish Water’s accredited laboratories.
At Bo’ness near Falkirk, a waste water development centre has been created next to an existing wastewater treatment works.
Andrew Macdonald, head of Scottish Water Horizons, the utility’s commercial subsidiary which has developed the centres, said the centres will help “promote growth and innovation” in the water sector, offering companies in the water industry an opportunity to test new processes and equipment which could “potentially be more effective and produce savings for customers”.
“What’s really unique about our development centres is that they are located within an actual and former treatment works – meaning they are not only the first dedicated testing facilities of their kind in Scotland, but also the first on an operational scale,” he said.
The water used for testing will not be supplied to customers but will be safely returned to the environment.