Water, wastewater and drainage: consultation analysis

Conclusion

We are grateful for the large number of responses to the water, wastewater and drainage policy consultation and wish to extend our thanks to all those that provided their views. We received 492 responses which is a high number for a consultation of this nature on the topic of water, wastewater and drainage.

Climate change is affecting Scotland’s water resources with increasing frequency and intensity of droughts and intense rainfall. Adapting to the impacts of climate change is therefore becoming increasingly urgent. Unless urgent action is taken to adapt, the costs and impacts of the lack of water and surface water flooding will increase.

The consultation considered how the water industry in Scotland can best adapt to the risks posed by climate change and, in doing so, protect our water, wastewater and drainage services for generations to come. In addition to setting out the changes required to be made by the water industry we also need to support the people of Scotland to play their part in taking care of the water resources upon which we depend.

The consultation responses show broad support for our proposals. Overall, there was wide agreement that we should recognise that the water industry provides three services: water, wastewater and drainage and that suitable infrastructure is required to support the delivery of each of these services. Given the growing likelihood of drought and water scarcity, respondents agreed that Scotland needs to plan its water resources to ensure water resilience. Furthermore, Scotland’s households need to become more water efficient and reduce the current consumption levels of 180 litre per person per day to levels seen elsewhere in Europe. This is preferential to building new reservoirs and water treatment works which would be expensive.

In relation to wastewater, there was a recognition that wastewater networks need to be improved to reduce the frequency of sewage spills and to support a circular economy through resource recovery. Given the increasing likelihood of more intense rainfall, respondents agreed that building blue-green infrastructure to handle rainwater was preferable to building ever larger wastewater systems and sewers.

Furthermore, the removal of rainwater from sewers today would lessen the frequency and impacts of current sewage spills. Responses acknowledge that improvements must be funded.

Roughly half of respondents commented that charging systems for households are no longer fit for purpose and do not encourage either water efficiency or measures to remove rainwater from wastewater systems.

A common theme in the consultation responses was the need for better education on water, wastewater and drainage in order to create behaviour change, whether through reducing water consumption or stopping the disposal of inappropriate items down the toilet. Behaviour change, driven by education and public awareness campaigns, was seen as an integral part of ensuring we adapt to the effects of climate change.

We will now use the responses to this consultation to inform our policy development process, which will continue into Autumn 2024.