Scottish Water - Sustainable Land Management Team 1.33

Scottish Water takes water from the environment and treats it to provide wholesome supplies of drinking water for the people of Scotland. The vast majority of this water is unpolluted and with treatment meets very stringent drinking water quality standards.Unfortunately, some water sources are not in such good condition. In these cases, Scottish Water is looking for new and alternative approaches to supplement the treatment of these supplies through sustainable land management. This offers the opportunity to enhance and maintain a high quality supply of drinking water, providing even greater value for money for our customers and delivering real environmental improvements.

Land managers, however, cannot be expected to cover the costs for protection of drinking water sources where the action required to do so is above pre-existing legal requirements (e.g. General Binding Rules (GBRs), Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) rules). Land managers can apply to the Incentive Scheme for assistance in financing measures aimed at contributing to the improvement and protection of water sources in the catchment, over and above the expected regulatory compliance.

By working together it is hoped that public health is protected, a sustainable approach to the improvement and protection of drinking water quality is adopted and that land managers are not disadvantaged by selecting a more sustainable approach.

This is an exciting opportunity to work in a different way that if successful will benefit drinking water supplies, the environment and land managers.