Private water supplies
Around 3% of Scotland’s population get their drinking water from private water supplies, not owned or operated by Scottish Water. Most of these are in remote and rural areas and use sources like lochs, streams or boreholes.
You can find more information on private water supplies on mygov.scot, including a tool to help make them safer.
Support for communities affected by water scarcity
Climate change is making private water supplies increasingly vulnerable to water shortages and poor water quality.
We're supporting affected communities by:
- helping eligible communities connect to the public water network and removing some costs and uncertainty
- improving the quality of existing private water supplies
Private water supply connections project
Our private water supply connections project is helping eligible communities affected by water scarcity to connect to the public water network.
The project includes:
- a Scotland-wide scheme where councils nominate affected communities
- a pilot project extending the public water supply to shortlisted communities
Our aims are to:
- improve Scotland's resilience to water scarcity
- better understand the challenges of extending the public water network to communities with private supplies
- learn lessons for future climate change projects
We are leading this project with Scottish Water, Consumer Scotland and local councils.
Scotland-wide scheme
Local councils nominated communities for a water impact assessment from Scottish Water to decide if they could be shortlisted for connection. Funding for this part has now ended.
Some shortlisted communities are taking part in the pilot to extend the public water network to their area, if they want to connect.
The funding covers connection up to property boundaries only. Householders must pay to connect from their boundary to the stop valve inside their property. This is because government capital funding must be spent on public assets and infrastructure.
Private water supply grant scheme
We provide funding to local councils to deliver the private water supply grant scheme, offering up to £800 eligible households and businesses to improve their existing private water supply.
Check how to apply for a private water supply grant at mygov.scot.