BLOG: Drought, heat and water shortages. Why Scotland is not immune - Alex Plant CEO

“The idea that a rainy country can never have a water problem is dangerously simplistic.”

Alex Plant
CEO, Scottish Water

You don't have to look far to see why water resilience matters right now.

This summer, many parts of England and Wales have faced drought and pressure on water supplies, while extreme heat, water scarcity and wildfires across western Europe have shown how quickly our climate is changing. 

For those of us lucky enough to live in Scotland, it may be easy to look south and across the continent, feel sympathy, but assume this is not really an issue for us. 

After all, this is Scotland, isn’t it? It rains. A lot. Surely water is one thing we don't need to worry about? 

Scotland is fortunate. Our geography, climate, uplands and lochs give us natural advantages, and we have not experienced the same prolonged extreme heat or scale of pressure on water resources that other places have. 

But the idea that a rainy country can never have a water problem is dangerously simplistic.

Resources

Rainfall and available water for public supply are not the same thing. Rain has to fall in the right places, at the right times and for long enough to replenish rivers, reservoirs and groundwater.

Scottish Water has worked hard over many years to strengthen resilience. We have invested in networks, connected supply systems, reduced leakage and improved our ability to move water to where it is needed, helping us maintain supplies through dry weather, high demand and operational challenges. 

We should take confidence from that. But we should never take it for granted.

And we certainly should not look at England, Europe or elsewhere and conclude that Scotland has somehow got it right and others have got it wrong. Different countries face different climates, geographies, populations and pressures, and different responses are needed. 

Strategy

Instead, we should ask a much harder question: could this be us? Increasingly, the answer has to be yes. So the next question is: what should Scotland’s national water strategy be for this new normal?

That strategy must look at water in all its forms, not just public water supply, and consider how we manage water resources across the economy while protecting our precious natural environment.

We all need to prepare for longer dry periods and higher demand, as well as more intense rainfall, flooding and pressure on drainage. Drought and flood are connected challenges, and both require us to think about water as a whole system.

We are at a turning point in how we think about water. 

For generations, the success of our public water system has made water almost invisible. We turn on the tap and expect it to be there. That reliability is something to be proud of, but it can also breed complacency. Too often, we only recognise water’s true value when there is not enough of it. 

Resilience

Resilience is not just about reservoirs, pipes or treatment works. It is about families turning on the tap, communities being protected when extreme weather hits, businesses being able to operate and the environment having the water it needs to thrive. 

As Chief Executive of Scottish Water, my core responsibility is to meet today’s public water supply and wastewater disposal challenges, while preparing for those we can see coming tomorrow. But at Scottish Water we also want to make the case for systems thinking about water. 

We know we cannot do this alone. Decisions about housing, development, agriculture, land use, planning and economic growth all have consequences for water. We need government, regulators, utilities, businesses, developers and communities to think about it as one interconnected system.

Outcomes

And if we can do this, the prize is a big one: better outcomes at a lower societal cost.

There is no cost-free option. Building resilience requires investment but waiting until extremes of weather force our hand will almost certainly be harder, more disruptive and more expensive. 

Much of Scotland's infrastructure was built for a different climate (some dating back to the Victorian era), population and set of expectations. Our natural advantages put us in a strong position today, but they do not make us immune from what comes next.

That is why the International Water Association World Water Congress & Exhibition coming to Glasgow this October could hardly be more timely.

Around 10,000 people from the global water community will come to Scotland. We have experience and innovation to share, but also much to learn from countries already dealing with conditions that could increasingly become part of our future.

And this is not just a conversation for Congress delegates. Free visitor registration for the exhibition is now open, giving people from across the water sector and beyond the chance to see the latest innovation and technology first-hand, and connect with others working on the same challenges around the world.

Opportunity

Glasgow should be about more than talking. We have an opportunity to turn attention into action and make 2026 a year when water moves higher up the agenda for governments, businesses and society. 

Scotland’s ambition cannot simply be: we’re a wet country, we’ll be fine. We should use the advantages we have today to prepare for the climate we will have tomorrow, and to adapt to the more difficult climate we are already experiencing. That is also the theme of the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition - Water Action: the Path to Resilience and Prosperity. 

What we are seeing right now in England and Wales and across Europe is not an opportunity for Scotland to feel fortunate. It is an opportunity to sit up, take notice and learn. Their challenges today will be ours tomorrow. 

Because the time to build resilience is not when the taps are running dry. It's while the water is still flowing. 

Visitor registration for the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition is now open - IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition – Visitor Registration