Scots cut water use in response to record dry spell

Scots have responded to warnings of water scarcity during the record dry spell by cutting the amount used by millions of litres a day.

Customers were using an extra 150 million litres (34 million gallons) of water per day last week as the country faced the driest start to the year in six decades.

But after a public appeal to use supplies sparingly, Scottish Water said daily demand had dropped by 60 million litres - enough to supply the whole of Fife for a day.

Scarcity warnings issued by the environment agency Sepa last week remain in place.

Scottish Water said the decrease was a result of the public reducing their use of garden sprinklers and hoses, taking shorter showers and turning taps off sooner.

At its peak last week, water consumption across Scotland was at a daily 2,000 million litres.

The supplier has asked the public for its continued efforts because the weather is forecast to be fairly dry for the rest of the week.

Much of the east of Scotland - from Deveron in Moray to Eskdale in the Dumfries and Galloway - is listed by Sepa as having moderate water scarcity.

The rest of the country is on alert, except the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides which have an early warning.

Sepa warned last week that restrictions on water abstraction, which will impact farmers and businesses such as golf courses, could be implemented.

The rainfall expected later this week is unlikely to make much of a difference to reservoir levels, which Scottish Water said had fallen from 91% last week to 77% this week, well below the average of 90% for this time of year.

The company has offered advice to customers including taking shorter showers and turning the tap off when brushing teeth.

It recommended using washing machines and dishwashers only when fully loaded and using a bucket and sponge rather than a hose to wash cars.

It said a large part of additional water use was in gardens.

People were advised to use a watering can instead of a garden hose and avoid using sprinklers.

The last time a full hosepipe ban was implemented in Scotland was 1995.

Kes Juskowiak, a Scottish Water director, offered a "massive thank you" to everyone who helped reduce water demand by using the "precious resource" efficiently.

But he said they need customers to continue to restrict water use.

"The system remains under significant pressure and so we'd like to encourage everyone to continue to use Scotland's water as efficiently as possible," he said.

"Gardeners can have a particularly big impact by switching off sprinklers and using watering cans instead.

"But we can all play our part through simple steps like shorter showers and turning the tap off when we brush our teeth. It all adds up."

Scottish Water said individuals use around 178 litres of water a day in Scotland, compared to an average 137 litres per day in England and Wales.

The corporation is launching its Water Is Always Worth Saving campaign next month, to show the public more ways to reduce water usage.