‘Vital’ water quality checks to resume in Scottish homes

“Vital” checks on the water supply to Scotland’s homes are to resume after being stopped during the pandemic.

Thousands of samples will be taken from taps at houses randomly selected by postcode and will be scrutinised for any metals or bacteria, or discolouration, taste, or smell issues, said Scottish Water.

During 2019/20, Scotland’s public water supply quality “was 99.917% compliant with standards”, it added.

Usually, some 15,000 samples are taken from randomly selected houses, but due to fears over virus transmission, the process was stopped after Covid-19 broke out with interim measures put in place.

These included samples extracted from commercial premises, from volunteers’ homes, and from different parts of the water distribution network.

Simon Parsons, Scottish Water’s director of strategic customer service planning, said: “The samples taken from our customers’ taps are vital to ensuring water quality is checked and maintained all year round.

“This activity was paused during the restrictions resulting from the need to prevent the spread of the virus and to keep our key workers and householders safe.

“During the period of restrictions, we were unable to carry out samples in customers’ homes but put alternative measures in place to provide continued confidence in the quality of Scotland’s water.”

It said workers calling on homes to take samples will wear protective gear and wipe down surfaces but homeowners can refuse visits if they wish.