How We Kept Scotland's Water Flowing in the Face of Storm Eowyn

Ever wondered what it takes to keep your water and waste water services flowing in the eye of a storm?

Well, Scottish Water's stormtroopers worked round the clock to minimise the impact of the extreme weather and ensure that water and waste water services continued to operate as normal wherever possible.

Let's take a look at it in numbers:

• 400 - the number of staff engaged in the response and recovery effort - ranging from operators working at remote sites and in the field, to customer service staff responding to calls and messages, and laboratory teams maintaining essential sampling activity. They were supported by many more from Scottish Water’s supply chain partners
• 112 - the number of Water Treatment Works that were transferred to generator power to maintain the safe production of drinking water for well over 2 million customers across the country –almost half of all WTWs
• 835 - sites where normal mains power was lost across Scotland and normal telecommunications connectivity interrupted at 1057 sites
• 225 - jobs carried out by electrical and mechanical engineers to maintain and restore operation – more than 12 times the typical number
• 30 - road tankers worked to support water networks and maintain supplies wherever possible while power to pumping stations was disrupted
• 462 - the number of households where field customer support teams delivered bottled water reflecting relatively low impact on water supplies, mainly focused in very localised rural areas

“I pay tribute to our staff for going that extra mile time and time again for our customers.
”

Alex Plant
CEO, Scottish Water

We think you'll agree, it was an epic effort by responders from all agencies across the country.

Our teams worked closely with communities and emergency response partners, solving access problems and issues affecting everything from the largest water infrastructure in Scotland to the water main that serves Easdale Island in Argyll, accessible only by foot ferry.

Waste water teams overcame continuing severe weather, fallen trees, and debris to assist customers and keep Scotland's sewers flowing as soon as it was safe to respond after the Red Warning was lifted.

Alex Plant, Scottish Water’s Chief Executive, said: “I would like to thank everyone from our teams, emergency response partners, and communities who have helped us maintain service and support customers through this exceptional weather event.

“We have been doing everything possible to maintain normal services or, where our services have been impacted, to restore them as quickly as we can and we will continue doing so wherever necessary.

“This was a huge challenge due to the extreme weather, which made working more difficult and potentially dangerous, and I pay tribute to our staff for going that extra mile time and time again for our customers.”

Any customers still experiencing issues with their water or drainage services are encouraged to check our website at www.scottishwater.co.uk for the latest information or contact our Customer Engagement Centre on 0800 0778 778 for assistance.

Across the weekend, we saw a 1400 increase in the number of people who signed up to our new Text Alert Service where customers receive updates by text message during service interruptions in their area.

This increase brings the number of people signed up to more than 66,100. Customers can sign up via our website: Sign Up for Alerts

If you require immediate additional support, please use our How to Contact Us page, or call us on 0800 0778 778.

If you require additional support for future incidents, please use this link to sign up as a Priority Services Customer.