The idea of piping water from the North of the UK, particularly Scotland, to the drought-prone South of England has been debated for decades. It’s technically feasible but faces significant economic, environmental, and political hurdles.
5 thoughts on “The idea of piping water from the North of the UK, particularly Scotland, to the drought-prone South of England has been debated for decades. It’s technically feasible but faces significant economic, environmental, and political hurdles.”
At the time of writing here on the misty and often wet Isle of Skye Scottish Water via a poster campaign are appealing to the public to conserve water as the demands placed on the supply system are nearing critical levels owing to the overwhelming visitor levels compromising an already seriously depleted infrastructure.
It is all the more galling that an increasing level of immigration from the south has led to a huge increase in the installation of hot tubs in second homes and properties marketed as holiday lets placing an even higher burden on a finite natural resource.
Any notion that Scotland’s water should be automatically acquired to satisfy the needs of our colonising neighbour requires to be challenged at every level!!
The days of incessant rain are not quite so common as in past times. Storage capacity is fair however the problem is one of demand on the resource, (Storr Loch on North Skye for instance also feeds hydro generating capacity on demand) this in combination with an ageing infrastructure which leaks an indeterminate volume of treated water before it reaches our taps.
Such is the demand new housing and holiday lets are creating that water is being tankered in to parts of the Island owing to insufficient local treatment capacity.
The high volume of visitors (over 850,000 in 2024) creates an ever increasing demand outwith that required by the Islands local population of just over 12500 souls. The projected figures for this year suggest that figure may rise to nearer 1 million.
Tankering water to communities is unacceptable. Seems to me the authorities are failing to invest in the infrastructure and this is a problem of long standing. A part solution assisting a reduction in visitor numbers might be to close the bridge to pedestrian and vehicular traffic and service vehicle other than coaches, and people who are fully residential on the isle requiring all other traffic to use a ferry
Aye CJ, there’s mair than a few wid be in agreement wi’ that. The prevailing ferry situation, now that IS definitely another days work and wid be a right lang day at that!!!
caltonjock 
At the time of writing here on the misty and often wet Isle of Skye Scottish Water via a poster campaign are appealing to the public to conserve water as the demands placed on the supply system are nearing critical levels owing to the overwhelming visitor levels compromising an already seriously depleted infrastructure.
It is all the more galling that an increasing level of immigration from the south has led to a huge increase in the installation of hot tubs in second homes and properties marketed as holiday lets placing an even higher burden on a finite natural resource.
Any notion that Scotland’s water should be automatically acquired to satisfy the needs of our colonising neighbour requires to be challenged at every level!!
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Is the problem linked to a lack of storage capacity? The rain was incessant when I toured the Islands in the 1960’s?
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The days of incessant rain are not quite so common as in past times. Storage capacity is fair however the problem is one of demand on the resource, (Storr Loch on North Skye for instance also feeds hydro generating capacity on demand) this in combination with an ageing infrastructure which leaks an indeterminate volume of treated water before it reaches our taps.
Such is the demand new housing and holiday lets are creating that water is being tankered in to parts of the Island owing to insufficient local treatment capacity.
The high volume of visitors (over 850,000 in 2024) creates an ever increasing demand outwith that required by the Islands local population of just over 12500 souls. The projected figures for this year suggest that figure may rise to nearer 1 million.
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Tankering water to communities is unacceptable. Seems to me the authorities are failing to invest in the infrastructure and this is a problem of long standing. A part solution assisting a reduction in visitor numbers might be to close the bridge to pedestrian and vehicular traffic and service vehicle other than coaches, and people who are fully residential on the isle requiring all other traffic to use a ferry
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Aye CJ, there’s mair than a few wid be in agreement wi’ that. The prevailing ferry situation, now that IS definitely another days work and wid be a right lang day at that!!!
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