Don't waste water on grass, urges Scottish Water

Water usage has increased by around a 150 million litres over the last two weekends thanks to warm, dry weather

Scots have been asked to use less water - especially in their gardens - following weeks of dry weather.

The request from the Scottish Water comes as forecasters predict the dry spell is set to continue.

It has been the driest spring in north Scotland since 2018, according to the Met Office.

Scottish Water wants water to be used sparingly to ease pressure on the network, and said hosepipe use was a big concern.

The firm said that water usage had increased by about 150 million litres over the last two weekends.

Much of it will have been used on parched gardens, dusty cars and filling up children's paddling pools.

• Water scarcity issues expected to escalate rapidly

• Warning of summer water shortages after dry winter

Kes Juskowiak, of Scottish Water, said gardens pose a "big challenge" and put strain on the water network.

"A garden hose uses 1,000 litres an hour, that's more than a family of five would use in a whole day," he told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme.

"We really don't want to see that being wasted on grass or on other uses within gardens."

Environment agency Sepa issues water scarcity reports every week throughout the summer months.

The latest shows the area most severely affected is the Loch Maree area, in the north-west Highlands, where water scarcity is rated at "moderate".

Other parts of north-west Scotland, and parts of southern and central Scotland are at "alert" levels, while most of the rest of the country has reached "early warning" level.

Only a small part of the north-east of Scotland is currently experiencing normal conditions.

River restrictions

A report from the Met Office said that river levels were now very low across much of Scotland.

And their long range weather forecast for the UK predicts dry weather is likely to persist in Scotland until 18 June.

"It's been dry in many parts for almost a month and we're expecting this to continue through, certainly a fair proportion of June," Mr Juskowiak said.

"Our plea really at this point in time is to work together with the customers. We're working hard to make sure that we fix every issue out there and if our customers can do their part it protects the resources into the summer.

"My call out would be for how water is used in the garden. Do you really need to water that grass, can you delay cleaning your car for a couple of weeks?"

Scotland had its hottest year on record last year but there has not been a hosepipe ban in the country since 1995.

However, last year Sepa did introduce some restrictions on taking water from rivers in certain parts of Scotland.