15-05-2025
Why Scottish tap water is 'best in the world' to drink from geography to weather
Scots might take the tap water for granted but when you compare it to other major cities, we are very lucky
Scots are extremely passionate about their tap water. Drinking an ice cold glass of fresh, clean H20 is so much part of our daily lives that we may not think twice about it - until we go abroad and taste a marked difference.
Scots have been known to engage in light-hearted banter about where in the country offers the best pour. Of course, we all have our biases - but why is Scottish tap water often considered the best in the world?
In the 2022 Environmental Performance Index, the UK was one of just six countries worldwide that achieved the highest achievable score for their tap water - tied with Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Finland.
People may raise an eyebrow about this considering the quality of the water in some cities down south. In fact, just this week, North Yorkshire homes have been urged to boil their tap water "until further notice".
This is after routine tests showed higher than usual levels of bacteria. However, the UK's score is brought up by the quality of Scottish water which, in rural areas like the Highlands or lowlands, is crystal clear.
Tap water is, ultimately, largely down to personal taste and preference as different mineral contents change the taste and 'feel' of the water.
Glasgow boasts 'soft water' due to its exceptionally low mineral content, meaning it's more tasteless than most water.
Conversely, places like London have 'hard water' which is rich in minerals and alkalinity - so much so that it'll leave a residue on your kettle once boiled.
Scotland's drinking water is largely derived from 'surface water' - lochs, rivers and reservoirs.
Glasgow's water supply, for instance, comes from Loch Katrine Waterworks.
In the 1800s, a dam was established at the east end of the loch to raise the natural level of Loch Katrine, with an aqueduct network using gravity to flow the loch water from the lower highlands into a reservoir at Mugdock.
Meanwhile, most of England depends on aquifers, also known as 'groundwater,' which can give the water a different kind of taste depending on the region and number of time spent underground, which could run into the millennia.
In Scotland, the public water supply is provided by Scottish Water. Supplies are taken from a number of sources and all need to be treated before they are of sufficient quality to be used by consumers.
The extent and type of treatment required depends on the nature of the supply, its quality and any potential risks to quality that are present.
Scottish Water undertakes about 350,000 tests every year on samples of water taken at water treatment works, storage points and consumers' homes to verify that the water quality meets these standards.
The quality of water is then checked and standards are enforced by the Drinking Water Quality Regulator.
Incredibly, there is also a team of 23 professional water tasters based in a specialist unit at Heriot-Watt University.
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Scotland is also helped by geography. The country gets more rain and is less densely populated with less intensive agriculture with lower run-off from fields, plus faster run-off from its rivers.
according to the BBC.
In stark comparison, only 14 per cent of lakes and rivers in England were found to be in a good ecological condition.
Scots can search for the water quality in their area on the Scottish Water website.
Simply enter your postcode and you can view the number of aluminium, iron, E. coli and other substances in your water. You can also view a water quality map to compare your area to others and find your water hardness.
So, while parts of the world including the US are blighted by water issues, arguably the most well-known of which was the water crisis in Flint Michigan, caused by lead contamination in the city's drinking water supply between 2014 and 2019, Scotland holds strong. Good quality drinking water is a gift, and we should never take it for granted.
