Scottish Water Response to DWQR Annual Report

Scottish Water has responded to a new report published today by the independent Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR), which has said Scotland’s drinking water remains among the best in the world, but that improvement is required to reduce avoidable incidents and complaints about discoloured water.

Alex Plant, Chief Executive of Scottish Water, said: “We are delighted that the DWQR has reported that the quality of Scotland’s drinking water remains ‘world class – with more than 99.9% of tests meeting regulatory standards'.

"We recognise that we can make improvements to our assets and processes to prevent things from going wrong. We seek to learn from every incident and are actively working to tackle the causes of water quality incidents."

He added: “Many assets across our network are ageing and will require extra maintenance before eventually needing to be replaced. Most were not designed to cope with the type of weather conditions which are now the norm. This makes it ever more challenging to continue to improve drinking water quality.

“Investment remains critical to strengthening Scotland’s water system.”

The DWQR annual report can be accessed here: 2025 Annual Reports