Water World

Water comes in at #6 in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals

Their simple advice is to ‘Avoid wasting water’, since 40% of the world population is affected by water scarcity.

In Scotland, we are blessed with a seemingly abundant supply of water – fresh, cool, clear, straight from the tap.
Indeed, due to climate change, we now have 16% more rainfall compared to 100 years ago. But, unless you’re an umbrella manufacturer, that’s not as good news as it might sound.

For a start, rain falls unevenly across Scotland. Some areas can still be dry. Other areas can flood quite easily.
Heavier storms also wash more surface soil and organic material off the hills into our rivers and lochs. As a result, it’s becoming more and more difficult and costly to provide the world class drinking water of which Scotland is justifiably proud.

As Scotland’s cities and suburbs expand, we also have more hard surfaces. Even gardens and driveways are often paved. So, all that extra rainfall goes straight down the drain, and can overwhelm sewers which were ironically built over 100 years ago…