Scotland is home to many beautiful rivers and lochs. From the lowlands of Glasgow and Edinburgh right up to the Highlands, there are thousands of companies that rely on a dependable water supply every day. Not many business owners would stop to think about whether they get the best water possible, or if they have access to better water services than other areas of the UK.

Let's look at whether businesses in Scotland get the best water possible and some of the surprising facts regarding water usage in Scotland.

If you were to have two glasses of water in front of you, one from Glasgow and one from London, and were asked to figure out where which one came from, you would be surprised by how easy it is to identify by taste. Scotland has some incredibly soft water compared to the rest of the UK, especially the East and South of England.

This is down to how water is sourced. Most supplies will come from reservoirs near locks or groundwater pools. When rainwater falls here and settles or filters through, it doesn't pick up a high level of minerals. This makes it easier to process and clean out the waterworks before entering the local water network. Why is it important? Well, for many businesses, water needs to be soft to use it for cleaning and processing. Most businesses in Scotland don't need to pre-treat water when it is used for things like cooking and cleaning.

Since when has the rain in Scotland ever done anyone any good? Well, if you run a business in an area where rain is always inevitable, you could save money on water bills.

Water reuse/recycling is becoming quite popular in Scotland, especially the likes of rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling. Scotland having softer water means less processing if a company has water reuse plans in place. So when water is captured, less energy and chemicals are used to recycle it for internal usage. 

 You may know that Scotland produces more energy than it can consume and sends a lot of that surplus down to England. Now water is slightly more challenging to move about. With Scottish Water (who owns and operate the water network for the entire country) acting as the main provider, many water retailers take on the cost and then sell water at a competitive rate. This affords businesses the chance to shop around and find a water retailer at the best price possible.

 Water retailers also have the luxury of being able to provide additional services for business customers. For example, a company in Scotland can choose their business water supplier to take advantage of lower bills, locked in tariffs for extended periods, and the chance to ask for help with improving their internal water networks. It can be something as simple as upgrading from an old water meter to a fancy smart one that digitally records and sends readings to the provider or helping to see if controlled water management can put bills in reverse for a change.

With Scottish Water also being a statutory corporation, it also has to ensure that water prices in Scotland are benchmarked against the private market in England and Wales, with the goal always to remain lower than their neighbors south of the border. For independent Scottish businesses, it makes for one hell of a deal.

 Wondering how a business in Scotland can get cheaper water bills?

 If you’re reading this post and just so happen to be based in Scotland, check out what Castle Water has to offer. They work with Scottish companies who want better deals on their bills and access to some of the services I’ve mentioned in this post.