Water demand up 20% in Scotland

Scottish Water had to increase supplies by 20% last week to meet rising demand in the warm weather.

Reservoir levels are significantly lower year on year, which led the company to call on customers to limit their usage.

Scottish said public water supply was resilient, but domestic demand rose by 150 megalitres each day during the past fortnight.

Average reservoir levels across the country fell by 3% over the past week to 77%. At this point last year, the levels were at 87%, which is average for the time of year.

“We’re working hard to maintain normal supplies for all but would again ask that customers consider how they use water and to protect this precious resource,” said Kes Juskowiak, Scottish Water’s general manager of customer water services.

“We believe that a large part of the additional water use is within gardens so we would ask that customers are mindful of how much water they use in outdoor spaces such as lawns.”

The company launched a multi-channel water saving campaign on digital, social media, newspapers, radio and television to encourage people to use water efficiently throughout the year.

Last week, South East Water announced an upcoming hosepipe ban as hot dry weather increased demand and left some customers with low or no supply. Anglian also announced an uptick in usage and urged consumers to use water wisely through the hot weather.

In Cornwall and some parts of Devon a hosepipe ban has been in place since last summer. South West Water is increasing supply by 45% this year to meet peak demand.

Scotland has not had a hosepipe ban since 1995, but in 2022 the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) restricted abstractions in some parts of the country.