Scottish Water is again calling on people across Scotland to use water efficiently after storage levels in reservoirs fell to record lows during the dry summer.

Following the second driest summer in 160 years in some parts of Scotland, storage levels in reservoirs are at 66%, the lowest recorded for this time of year since 2003.

More dry and warm weather is forecast next week and, while there might be some rain in September, the long-range forecast is for further dry weather in October and November.

Although demand for water has eased since the height of summer, it remains up to 100 million litres per day above average.

While there is no suggestion of restrictions being imposed, Scottish Water is repeating its call for customers to help protect normal water supplies by using water efficiently in their homes and gardens.

The water company said it is working hard to maintain normal water supplies to all customers and is doing so by producing more water where water treatment works have the capacity, using storage and moving water between networks where possible.

During the period of greatest demand in July, the utility had more than 30 tankers supplementing supplies and, while that has reduced through August, it continues to tanker in some areas where demand remains high, such as Tighnabruaich and Skye.

Scottish Water has also installed new infrastructure in some reservoirs such as Stornoway and have worked with industrial customers to provide alternative sources to safeguard supplies in some areas.

In some areas, the warm weather and low reservoir levels have also caused an issue with seasonal, naturally occurring manganese and discoloured water.

Kes Juskowiak, Scottish Water’s Water Operations General Manager, said:

“We thank customers for using water efficiently when we asked back in July as we did see a reduction in the spike of over 200 million litres extra being supplied each day.

“However, demand remains between 50 and 100 million litres higher each day than the average for this time of year and our water storage and resources are low due to the continued generally dry weather."