Scottish Water’s year of 2025 in numbers tells a story of massive ongoing challenges on water resources related to climate change and of huge investment in improvements to its infrastructure and services to customers.

Photo: low levels in Backwater Reservoir

People in Scotland consumed more than 470 billion litres of water in 2025, in the midst of some of the driest weather in almost two centuries, according to the latest Scottish Water figures.

The statistics show that throughout the year, domestic and business customers across Scotland used a total of 472 billion litres of water – the equivalent of more than the total volume of water in Loch Earn and Loch Katrine combined.

The weather – specifically a lack of rain earlier this year and for much of the summer – is what prompted the company to call on customers to use water as efficiently as possible in homes and gardens.

The publicly-owned utility faced challenges to maintain normal supplies across the country but particularly in parts of the east. Notable numbers include:

• Scotland experienced its driest January to April period since 1964, which was the 15th driest in the past 190 years.
• In the east, it experienced its driest January to August period since 1959 and the fifth driest in the past 190 years.
• One of Scottish Water’s reservoirs which was affected the most by this was Backwater in Tayside where data shows it was the driest year since 1972-73.
• Backwater reservoir reached its lowest recorded level in more than 40 years when storage was at 31.3% on October 30.
• Two reservoirs in East Lothian (Watch Water and Hopes) also saw levels drop to their lowest recorded levels in at least 30 years, dropping to 40% and 43% respectively.
• Lomond Hills reservoirs in Fife reached their lowest combined storage in at least 30 years when they were at 21%.

Scottish Water worked hard to boost local supplies where needed and one way it did so was by tankering water in – with a total of 3,933 vehicles deployed to the end of November. An average capacity for a tanker is 24,000 litres i.e. a total of 94.3 million litres.

The water company also faced challenges with waste water in 2025 – as it does every year – the numbers there were no less stark.

It costs the company about £10 million per year to clear chokes or blockages in the sewers – often caused by flushing the wrong things down toilets such as wet wipes and sanitary products.

The number of annual chokes ranges from about 34,000 to 36,000 and the average cost of clearing one is £297.

The council areas with the highest number of chokes in 2025 were Fife with 2767, Glasgow 2753 and Highland 2344. The lowest was Orkney with 42.

Research this year showed that 85% of people think wipes containing plastic should be banned.

Scottish Water is always investing to improve services to customers and did so throughout 2025.

One of the highlights came when the company completed its biggest ever drinking water investment – the £235 million provision of two-way connection between the water networks in Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire which will benefit one million customers.

The utility also restored over 600 hectares of peatland in 2025 at various sites around Scotland, including the first phase of a major 400-hectare restoration project aimed at protecting the water quality for over one million customers in the Greater Glasgow area.