Emergency action on Skye amid water scarcity fears
- Published
Water pipes and generators have been taken to Skye by helicopter
Emergency action is to be taken to maintain water supplies on Skye as the dry weather continues.
Scottish Water has been given special permission to install more pipes to safeguard supplies to the village of Broadford
The environment body Sepa has said all areas of Scotland are now experiencing some degree of scarcity.
A third of areas face significant water shortages by 30 June if river levels do not recover, it said.
Last week the Loch Maree area in the Highlands reached "significant", the highest risk level, and remains there.
The Ness remains at "moderate" scarcity, the second highest level, and is joined by the Inner Hebrides, parts of the central belt, and the whole of the south west.
The rest of Scotland is at "alert" level, with the exception of the Shetland islands at "early warning".
On Skye, where the overall risk is seen as moderate, Scottish Water has been given permission to maintain the amount of water in a burn that flows from a loch in a conservation area.
Transport and Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan authorised the "exceptional, short-term measure" to ensure maintenance of the public water supply to the village of Broadford.
Scottish Water's Kes Juskowiak explains what action is being taken on Skye
The Allt a' Mhuilinn burn flows from a loch that is a designated Special Area of Conservation and Site of Special Scientific Interest for macrophytes, a type of plant, but Scottish Water said it expected any environmental impact to be minimal.
Kes Juskowiak, water operations manager at Scottish Water, said: "We've been bringing in water pipes by helicopter, as well as generators to run those. Doing that will make sure that our customers stay in supply.
"We were about two or three days away from the burn, which we take our water from, running dry. It's never happened before and it has certainly never dropped at such a quick rate.
"Everything is on site and the teams have been working long days with the late sunshine to get that out. We hope to have it all in place over the weekend."
Mr Juskowiak told BBC Scotland the dry spell had caused increased demand across the whole of the country.
"For the last week, we've been running about 200 million extra litres of water every day just to keep up with supply," he said.
"I am grateful that the weather is going to be turning this weekend and into Monday, for at least a short period. It's been a really challenging period for us over the last three weeks.
He added: "As always, we encourage our customers to use their water wisely."
The pipes will bring water to Broadford from a nearby loch
The cabinet secretary, Mairi McAllan, said prompt action was being taken to ensure that there was no risk to the public water supply on Skye.
She said: "Our partner agencies have advised that this is an isolated incident related to specific circumstances in the Broadford area.
"The steps we have taken will permit Scottish Water to maintain the public water supply until they can put a longer-term solution in place.
"Everyone needs to use water responsibly. I urge businesses and the public to continue to follow the guidance provided by Sepa and Scottish Water on the measures we all should be taking as long as the outlook remains dry."
A Sepa spokesman said it was working with Scottish Water "to ensure the needs of the local community in Broadford are met, while carefully balancing the protection of the local water environment".