Protect Property and Pipes from Water Damage this Winter

We're asking householders and businesses across Scotland to ensure their water pipes are protected from cold weather this winter and help minimise the risk of bursts and damage to property, and reduce water losses.

Property owners are being advised that, although it might be relatively mild at the moment, preparing for sub-zero temperatures could prevent problems such as burst pipes and flooding - and all the inconvenience and expense they can cause - and help reduce the amount of water lost through leakage.

Scottish Water’s free text alert initiative to encourage customers to be aware of any potential disruption to service in their area and how to prepare for every eventuality has attracted 100,000 customers to sign up since its launch in 2024 and the utility is encouraging more people to do likewise and help ensure they are ‘in the know’ as winter approaches.

We're also continuing to ask customers across Scotland to remember that water is always worth saving and to save water by using washing machines and other household appliances only when full, taking shorter showers, and repairing leaking toilets.

Following a dry summer, some parts of the country, such as the east, still have reservoir levels that are about 25% below average for the time of year. Scottish Water is concerned that the winter and spring refill might not replenish levels enough, leading to greater water supply challenges next year.

However, with attention being focused on the coming winter weather, the company is pointing out that when temperatures fall below zero, water in pipes can freeze, expand, and then contract if the temperature rises and this can cause them to crack or burst.

In recent winters, Scotland has experienced several very cold weeks, with pipes freezing followed by quick thawing and this has sometimes caused a surge in the number of bursts across the country. This, in turn, has led to many incidents of flooding and damage to property, causing significant inconvenience and expense for householders and businesses throughout the country.

In the winter of 2023/24, Scottish Water recorded a total of 3100 bursts across the country’s water network, and more than 30% of these were on customers’ properties.

The bursts and leaks also meant substantial amounts of the water Scottish Water produces were lost.

To help reduce the risk of a repeat this winter, the utility advises anyone with a home, holiday home, or business premises to take action to protect their properties and pipes, whether the property is old or new.

The key advice about pipes is to heat, insulate, and protect:

Heat:

Most modern boilers have frost-protection built in, which will fire up the central heating system if needed, even when your heating is turned off. This applies if your boiler is inside or outside. Different manufacturers take different approaches, but a common method is that if the water in the heating circuit drops below a certain temperature, the boiler will temporarily turn on. Your boiler must be powered on for this feature to work. If you are not away on holiday in cold weather, it’s unlikely the boiler would ever need to turn on for frost protection, as the temperatures at which it might be triggered (around 10 degrees) will typically be much lower than you would normally heat the house to (around 16-21 degrees). If you don’t have frost protection built-in to your boiler, or are unsure, you don’t need to be concerned unless you are going away in cold weather where you expect the outside temperatures to drop below 5 degrees in the period you are away.

Insulate:

Pipes don’t like the cold – whether they are outdoor or indoor, metal or plastic, new or old. Making sure pipes and water tanks are properly insulated is one of the simplest and cheapest, things which can be done to help protect properties from the cold. Make sure that there are no gaps at bends, valves, or fittings, and that you use a suitable insulation material. If you have a condensing boiler, insulate the condensate pipe: efficient condensing boilers produce a small amount of condensate, which drains away through a plastic pipe, usually outside. If that pipe gets blocked with a build-up of ice, the boiler will stop working. Insulate the plastic pipe with foam pipe insulation to keep it warmer and prevent the condensate water from freezing and blocking the pipe.

Protect:

If you're going away, then make sure you have someone who can regularly check for any problems. If your neighbours don’t have a key for your home, make sure they have contact details for someone who does in case of an emergency. 

If your boiler does not have built-in frost protection, then you can set your room thermostat to 10 °C and the programmer to 'On' or '24h', and it will fire up the boiler if needed.

If your property is going to be vacant over the winter months, turn off your house water supply and drain the water system – a plumber should be able to give you advice about this.

Dripping water and cold draughts both increase the risk of pipes freezing – so have any drips or leaks repaired as soon as you discover them, and reduce draughts by fitting draught excluders to doors and windows. It’s unusual to have a hot water cylinder in the loft – but if you do, you should consider draining this too. Don’t forget to leave your boiler turned on for frost protection.

Get insured

Even when your home is winter-ready, sometimes damage can happen, so make sure you have adequate building and contents insurance.

Visit www.scottishwater.co.uk/winter for further advice, information, and films.

The advice is part of Scottish Water’s winter campaign, which includes tips on all things winter and water-related, including: keeping warm and reducing energy bills through water and energy efficiency; safety around reservoirs and other water bodies; and the proper disposal of wipes and fats, oil, and grease to help avoid blockages and pollution.

Peter Farrer, Scottish Water’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “It’s sensible and prudent to prepare for the possibility of severe weather and the potential impact that has on property. By taking steps to insulate and protect properties and pipes, customers can avoid the considerable inconvenience and costs caused by frozen or burst pipes.

“Taking early action to reduce the risk of such bursts can also help reduce the amount of water lost through leakage from our system, which has affected us during some winters when there has been freeze and thaw weather. Water is always worth saving at any time of year.

“We want to work with our customers – whether they’re householders or businesses - to ensure we are all prepared for cold weather.”

Get text alerts

We're hoping more customers sign up for its text alert service, which is designed to keep people updated on essential information such as energy outages and weather-related issues.

By signing up for the service, customers will receive timely notifications directly to their mobile phones, helping them manage any issues that may arise.

They can sign up with multiple postcodes, making it easy to keep an eye out for loved ones as well.

Customers can sign up for Text Alerts to stay in the know this winter.

Information on the Scottish Government’s winter preparedness campaign is available at Ready Scotland.