Award of Improving Access to Safe and Affordable Drinking Water for Private Water Supplies

There are 21,584 private water supplies (PWS) in Scotland. These are supplies which are not connected to the mains water network and it is estimated that over 180,000 people rely on private water supplies. This number substantially increases during the holiday season. Climate change is impacting private supplies and an increasing number of properties are running out of water during prolonged dry periods, often with no alternative water supply.Previous consumer research has informed a suite of recommendations to support improving access to safe drinking water for those on a private water supply. Further insight is now needed to identify whether packages of support being developed by the Water Policy Division (WPD) are acceptable to PWS users and owners and can help them further improve their water supplies to make them more wholesome and resilient. Consumer Scotland will use the insight gained from this research to provide PWS stakeholders (as part of the PWS working groups) with a current position of the acceptability of potential services, support and funding packages