Scottish Water caution after driest length in 60 years

Scottish Water has warned consumers to make use of provides sparingly after the driest begin to the yr since 1964.

People will have to take shorter showers and keep away from the usage of hoses – even though it stopped in need of calling for an complete hosepipe ban.

The company mentioned Scotland been the usage of round an additional 150 million litres of water an afternoon for the reason that center of April.

It comes after surroundings company Sepa mentioned 23 spaces surrounding main our bodies of water – together with the Clyde, Dee, Firth of Forth and Firth of Tay – have been now experiencing some stage of water shortage.

Plenty of spaces, together with Potterton close to Aberdeen, Turnberry in South Ayrshire and Balfron in west Stirlingshire are having standard water provides supplemented by way of tankers.

In Moray, borehole provides from the River Spey are being boosted by way of pumping water without delay from the river to handle standard ranges.

Forecasters don’t be expecting rainfall in Scotland for any other week, till no less than 22 May.

Advice introduced by way of Scottish Water comprises the usage of a watering can as an alternative of a lawn hose, fending off the usage of sprinklers, taking shorter showers and turning the faucet off when brushing enamel.

It additionally recommends the usage of washing machines and dishwashers handiest when totally loaded and the usage of a bucket and sponge somewhat than a hose to clean automobiles.

However, it stopped in need of of pronouncing a complete hosepipe ban, which used to be final wanted in 1995.

Alex Plant, Scottish Water’s Chief Executive, mentioned: “We’re working hard to maintain normal supplies for all customers and would ask that they use water efficiently to protect this precious resource.

“We imagine that a huge a part of the extra water use at the present time is in gardens so we’d ask that buyers are conscious of the way a lot water they use there.”

Mr Plant added “easy steps” would help maintain normal supplies, saying Scotland’s climate as a whole is changing.

From January to April the country had only 59% of its long-term average rainfall, with May’s figures on track to be even lower.

On Tuesday temperatures in portions of Scotland rose above 25C, making it the most up to date day of the yr thus far.

The UK as a whole is currently experiencing its driest spring conditions for 130 years.

It’s incredibly early in the year to start talking about restricting our water use but with the dry weather having been with us now for about a month, it’s no surprise.

And we’re not expecting any significant quantities of rain to fall for another week at least.

But talk of a hosepipe ban may be premature; it needs to be approved by a minister and that hasn’t ever happened since devolution. Scotland’s last hosepipe ban was in 1995.

Generally speaking, water is in much greater abundance in Scotland compared with the south-east of England, where hosepipe bans are used fairly frequently, the last coming in 2023.

But because there’s water, water everywhere, we are more free and easy with it. The average Scot is using 178 litres a day compared with 137 litres in England and Wales.

The recommendation? Slow down. And deal with water a lot more like a treasured useful resource by way of proscribing our hosepipe use and now not letting it drain down the plug hollow unnecessarily.