Southend residents’ frustration at regular and lengthy water supply disruption
ANY URGENT upgrades to the crumbling water supply network in Shetland’s Dunrossness area will not take place before April next year at the very earliest, with no start date confirmed.
People in the southend have been expressing their frustration with the regular disruption to their water supply caused by aging infrastructure.
Some households have experienced as many as five lengthy disruptions since 1 April, affecting hundreds of people in total.
Dunrossness Primary School had to close on 3 June for the same reason.
Upgrades were due to begin in 2025 but due to cost pressures “in the years following the pandemic” these essential works have now been pushed back to the 2027 to 2033 investment period, according to Scottish Water.
Former vice chair of Dunrossness Community Council Hugh Harrop said the frustration in the community was further compounded by Scottish Water’s “poor communication”.
He said the community had been informed that work to upgrade the supply network was due to take place in 2025, however the decision to delay these works and the reasons why had not been communicated.
Local councillors as well newly elected MSP Hannah Mary Goodlad have also been in touch with the utility pushing for a confirmation as to when works would realistically begin.
Harrop said: “No communication of the decision to delay the works has been made to the people of Shetland or indeed those in the South Mainland who were expecting a massive improvement and an upgrade to the water supply issues.
“The infrastructure is old and crumbling. When the water goes off, people are required to phone in to report a fault. You can spend up to 20 minutes queuing to get through.
“What should happen is once it’s been reported, a message should instantly ping to all who have signed up to the SMS alert system. Also, their website should be updated instantly.
“The time it takes Scottish Water doing this is ridiculous as the ping on the SMS system sometimes comes only hours after the event.
“This is basic. In a day and age where we have all these communication facilities, it is so frustrating.”
Harrop also raised the issue of how long it takes for Scottish Water to supply bottled water, something that is being done only six hours after a disruption has been reported.
He added: “The engineers on the ground have been brilliant. You cannot fault their work and their commitment whatsoever.
“They are basically putting sticking plaster to an infrastructure that is decades old. They know that these are quick fixes and that the next break will happen again.”
Scottish Water said it appreciated how frustrating repeated supply interruptions are, adding that improvement work for Dunrossness was “high priority”.
A spokesperson for the company said: “We face a challenge across Scotland with managing and renewing ageing infrastructure, but replacement of the water mains in this area is identified as a high priority in our investment plan for the years ahead.
“Our proposed business plan for the next 6-year investment period that begins next April [2027 to 2033] is due to be agreed before the end of the year and this process, together with ongoing engagement with supply chain partners, will enable us to provide information about delivery timescales.
“In the meantime, our local team will continue to monitor the network closely, respond quickly to issues as they arise, and carry out repairs and targeted activity to help minimise further disruption for customers as far as possible.
“We would like to apologise for the experience that customers in Dunrossness have had in recent months.”
Harrop said there was no guarantee that work would be scheduled for 2027 and urged local people and politicians to increase the pressure on Scottish Water.
One way of doing so is to submit compensation claims for the regular loss of water supply, he said. This can be done via this web page.
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