Techno Bits

Scottish Water Companies Merge in April 2002

The Scottish Executives' Water Industry Bill is set to merge the three Scottish water and sewerage authorities, in response to the Competition Act 1998. The new entity "Scottish Water" will come into being in April 2002, and aims to modernise regulation of the water environment.

  • Water treatment licences relating to the insertion of drinking water into mains.
  • Water supply licences controlling the removal and sale of drinking water from mains.
  • Sewage service licences for the insertion of waste water into sewers.
  • Sewage treatment licences governing the removal of waste water from sewers.

Discharge controls will likely follow a two-tier system, and new controls covering diffuse pollution, engineering operations and water abstraction are in progress.

The drinking water quality regulator for Scotland will also be placed on a statutory footing, similarly to the Drinking Water Inspectorate of England and Wales.

Back  Next Archived - Jan. 27, 2003