Quality of Scotland's drinking water improves in 2016

Waterfall - image credit: Lino Mirgeler/DPA/PA Images

Drinking water in Scotland met required quality standards in 99.91 per cent of tests in 2016, according to a new report from the Drinking Water Quality Regulator.

The report, based on a total of 311,560 regulatory tests carried out on Scotland’s drinking water over the course of 2016, show 99.91 per cent met required standards.

The results show an improvement from 2002, when Scottish Water was formed, when 99.28 per cent of tests complied.

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Quality of Scotland's drinking water improves

In 2016 the regulator received 798 ‘event notifications’ from Scottish Water, with 26 declared as incidents and investigated in more detail.

Sue Petch the Drinking Water Quality Regulator said: “Consumers can be confident that when they turn on the tap, the product they receive meets some of the strictest water quality standards in the world. I am also pleased to report that the service consumers receive from Scottish Water when they do have an issue with the quality of their water supply has improved in recent years.

“This year I have been struck by the many excellent initiatives within the company to apply science to gain a better understanding of water quality and treatment processes. This work will deliver benefits in ensuring processes are more resilient and improve the service received by consumers. I am especially keen to see a reduction in the number of water quality incidents reported to us by Scottish Water.”