Drinking Water in Scotland 2025

Water Quality Regulator says “Scotland's drinking water remains amongst the best in the world, but improvement is required to reduce avoidable incidents’’

Scotland’s drinking water is world class, with more than 99.9% of tests meeting regulatory standards. But the Drinking Water Quality Regulator says a rise in avoidable incidents and complaints about discoloured water shows that further improvements are needed to maintain public confidence.

David Reynolds, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator said:

“Whilst consumers can remain confident that Scotland’s drinking water is safe and of a very high quality, too many short-lived incidents that affect customers could have been prevented, and that's an area where I need to see real improvement.

‘’Consumers rightly expect their tap water to look, taste and smell good. While the vast majority receive excellent quality drinking water every day, incidents of discoloured water continue to affect some customers. Addressing this issue is important to maintaining public trust and confidence in Scotland’s drinking water supplies’’.

The report, covering Drinking Water Quality in Scotland during 2025, states that a total of 137,947 regulatory tests were carried out on samples taken from consumers’ taps, and 99.88% of these met the required standards. This is a slight reduction in performance compared to 2024.

22 out of 62,134 tests on samples of water leaving water treatment works failed to meet standards which is comparable to recent years.

Scottish Water received 17,558 complaints from consumers about the quality of their drinking water in 2025 which is a 5% increase on 2024. Most of these complaints were in connection with the supply of discoloured water.

The number of water quality incidents requiring detailed investigation by the DWQR during 2025 was 36, compared with 34 in the previous year, a figure the Regulator considers too high.

 A full copy of Drinking Water Quality in Scotland 2025 is available at www.dwqr.org.uk

Background

The DWQR is independent of Scottish Ministers and ensures that Scottish Water complies with its drinking water quality duties. DWQR reviews water quality data from samples taken by Scottish Water and undertakes targeted audits examining all aspects of its operations. The Regulator also supervises enforcement of the Private Water Supply Regulations by local authorities (detailed in a separate report to be published in September).

Where drinking water does not meet the required standard, the Regulator has powers to investigate and ensure problems are resolved. This can involve taking enforcement action or prosecution.

The DWQR also has a role in helping to define Scottish Water’s investment programme and is committed to ensuring that drinking water supplies in Scotland are of the highest possible standard.

The role of DWQR was created in 2002, at the same time as Scottish Water. A report is published annually detailing the work of DWQR and an assessment of drinking water quality during the previous year. This is the 24th annual report.

The current DWQR is David Reynolds. David has worked in the water industry for over 30 years and took over the role of DWQR in September 2024.