Scottish Water Pauses Project to Ensure 102nd Birthday is Celebrated in Style!

29 February 2024
Dolan MacAskill marks his 102nd birthday with members of the project team

Birthday celebrations

Members of the project team popped in to wish Dolan MacAskill many happy returns after pausing work to ensure his birthday celebrations could go without a hitch.

Scottish Water put a planned water shut down on temporary pause in Skye after it was set to clash with a very important celebration. 
 
Dolan MacAskill, a retired CalMac Sea Captain, was set to welcome family and friends to the An Acarsaid care home in Broadford where he is a resident to celebrate his 102nd birthday but staff were concerned the water shut down would scupper the plans.  
 
Without any hesitation, the project team decided to delay the works, which were planned as part of work to upgrade around 8km of water mains across Broadford and Breakisk, ensuring Dolan could celebrate his special day without any hitches. 
 
Dolan was over the moon with the news and expressed that he would be really keen to see the works that are being carried out. The project is being delivered on Scottish Water’s behalf by alliance partner Caledonia Water Alliance (CWA) and contractor Global Infrastructure. 
 
Members of the project team popped past the care home the following week to wish Dolan many happy returns, complete with cake, candles and card. 
 
CWA Communications Manager Paul Milligan said:  
 
“When I received the call from the care home, I immediately got in touch with our site agents on the island, Alistair and Omer. They acted swiftly and got in touch with the networks team and contractor Global Infrastructure to make it happen. 
 
“We are lucky to have fantastic site agents that put customers first and keep communities at the heart of our business.” 
 
CWA site agent Alistair Purvis said: “We were really happy to be able to change the date of the shutdown to make sure Dolan’s birthday went smoothly.” 
 
Donald MacAskill, nicknamed Dolan, was born on 6 February 1922 at Flesherin on the Isle of Lewis. Mr MacAskill worked alongside his father making Harris Tweed and before later joining the Merchant Navy.